RWBY: Epic Of Remnant
by Doctor Snake Eater
Summary: When the primordial Goddess Tiamat proves to be too much for Chaldea's second Master, she and her four closest Servants find themselves caught in her black mud. But due to the meddling of a certain fragile Avenger, the four Servants find themselves transported to another world entirely, with a comatose Master, and no option but to.. enroll in an academy? Damn it Angra Mainyu, why?
1. Vintage Misery

_Author's Note: Alright, so.. its been years, huh? The real Author's note is gonna be at the bottom, cuz its pretty long, and I know how we all hate long ANs at the top of the chapter. I'm a bit rusty.  
_

* * *

 **Epic Of Remnant**

 **Chapter One: Vintage Misery**

* * *

 _Everything was agony._

 _Even if that wasn't the right way to say it, well, that didn't matter. Everything hurt. Every moment in existence was nothing but pure suffering._

 _She couldn't breathe. She couldn't see. She couldn't hear, or smell, or taste, or feel._

 _Yet at the same time, she could, but it was pure, burning pain._

 _She should've prepared more. She shouldn't have messed around. Because of her, they were in this mess._

 _And Chaldea was now down to a single Master._

 _Darkness, writhing and furious, coiled around her, filling her body and mind. Devouring her. Her Servants, wherever they were in conjunction to her, were most likely suffering the same way. Maybe worse, maybe less so._

 _Wasting her Command Seals to let her Servants spam their Noble Phantasms was a mistake, now she didn't have enough to save them all. Only a single one left. She was worthless._

 ** _"C'mon Master, you don't really think that, right? I mean, I'm probably worth way less than you, and I'm a Servant!"_**

 _A voice. Youthful, cocky, and relaxed. Unbelievably relaxed considering the situation._

 ** _"This is nothin', sure, it hurts like hell.. but I've felt worse, and then some. Dunno how long I'll last though. But you could help me save everyone, right? C'mon babe, you're way tougher than this."_**

 _The nickname made her twitch, feeling nostalgic. Fond. Affectionate. And yet also a tad bit annoyed._

 _But she couldn't do anything. She was useless. She was weak. Lost amidst the sea of primordial darkness, the dark oceans of Tiamat, her body was being twisted and consumed, slowly._

 ** _"Oi oi, best make up your mind now Master. If you're gone, I won't be able to hold on much longer. You want to save everyone, right? I'll save everyone for you Master. Just wish for it. I told you I'd give you as many as you want, no matter what, right?"_**

 _..._

 _Slowly, her consciousness stirred. Something in her shifted. Her body, broken and slowly merging with the eldritch sea of voices and darkness, began to move as she weakly raised her right arm, or what was left of it, towards the sky, wherever it was. Though her body had become a twisted, horrifying mess, her single remaining Command Seal remained a bright and vibrant red._

 _She remembered faces. A boy with black hair and teal eyes with a calm smile. A girl with pale lavender hair and eyes, bashful and sweet. So many other faces of varying races, origins and ages._

 _A black skinned man wearing a skull mask who always helped her with a fatherly patience._

 _A howling armored figure she always tried to soothe and calm down._

 _A scowling white haired man she always wrote about so he wouldn't forget anything._

 _...a dark skinned and tattooed youth she felt unbearably close to, his cocky grin and self-depreciative attitude always getting a rise out of her._

 _"...b-by.. t-the power of my Command Seal... I-I order you.. Avenger.. please.."_

 _Teary and unfocused orange eyes slowly sharpened as Chaldea's second Master forced herself to speak through the agony._

 _"Save us."_

 _And suddenly, everything was darkness, cold, empty.._

 _..and she felt familiar arms embrace her from behind._

 ** _"I gotcha Master. Your wish has been received."_**

 _And with that, she let go._

* * *

Cold, yellow eyes slowly opened, and were greeted by darkness. Had he gone blind?

No, he hadn't, he soon discovered as he lifted an arm up and saw his hand move into his field of vision. His dark skin, the same shade as ashes, and the black material of his sleeves.

Slowly, he sat up, raising a hand up to his head and began to feel for the buzz cut style of his snowy white hair. Odd, his hair seemed to have gotten a bit longer. Not much, but enough that it was noticeable. His eyes narrowed as he took in the rest of his appearance. His clothes were intact. Scratch that, his body was intact, but he felt thinner, smaller even, that wasn't right. The last thing he remembered.. which is something he fails to even attempt at unless it was a combat situation.. was...

 _-he launched off the side of the Underworld's cliffs as he reached out to an orange haired girl, her eyes wide and horrified as something from the depths of the writhing sea grabbed her, three figures following behind him-_

That. Right. Tiamat snagged his Master and then in a panic, him and three others dived in after her. And then it was.. what? What happened after that?

Slowly, the man once known as Emiya Shirou, now simply an alternate, or perhaps inevitable version of the Counter Guardian EMIYA, shut his eyes. His mind felt oddly clear even though he also felt sluggish, and sore, like something took him apart and put him back together again.

"So you have awoken."

The familiarity of that voice, which once again was something he wasn't used to, was the only thing that kept him from tracing his modified Kanshou and plugging a bullet in the source. Slowly, Emiya turned to his left, and found one of the few Servants he worked best with.

One of the Old Men of the Mountain, the Hassan I' Sabbah who bore the Cursed Arm of Shaytan.

He looked different. Not too much, but enough to be noticeable. He was shorter, not by much but noticeably so, which was saying something considering the fact that the Cursed Arm Hassan stood at a rather imposing height of 7 feet when he was upright. Which was rare, he always preferred to be hunched over.

Still, he was shorter by at least a few centimeters, but still taller than Emiya himself for sure.

That wasn't what drew his attention though. The Hashashin's muscle mass seemed to have changed as well. He wasn't as.. emaciated looking as before. He was a bit more filled out. His body actually resembled a living person's for once. His limbs were still much longer than average, but he looked less twisted in a way. His mask, as usual, was still that grinning skull mask that somehow changed expressions depending on how he tilted his head. And his right arm was still covered completely in the black wrappings to keep Shaytan's arm at bay.

Even Emiya had to admit that in the pitch black darkness of this world, the Hassan looked rather intimidating, especially since that with how dark the tone of his skin and clothes were, his mask was the only thing completely visible, like a grinning reaper.

"Cursed Arm. What happened?"

"I do not know myself, Emiya Shirou. We appear to be in a realm of nothingness, perhaps a form of Neraka for people such as ourselves. I have attempted wandering away from this spot, yet my feet always find themselves wandering back here without my notice." The black skinned Assassin tilted his head down, the eye sockets of his mark forming narrowed slits from his positioning. "All I can tell is that whatever this place is, it is the work of a Servant. Almost like.. a Reality Marble."

"A Reality Marble? This?" Emiya's lips thinned, ignoring how the Assassin said his full name. His old name. He was just an Archer now, but people usually respected that he didn't like being called it due to how different he was from who he used to be. So they usually just called him either Archer or Emiya. Never Shirou. Of course, some insisted on calling him his full name, either out of some strange form of respect, or just to mess with him. Whichever way this Hassan was using it, he had no idea.

"Indeed. The.. make up of the Prana in the air suggests it is one, from what little I have seen of other Reality Marbles. Specifically the King of Conqueror's. Yours is projected differently, so I could not analyze that. But I am not a Caster, I am not well-versed in studying these sorts of magic. All I have are assumptions."

"So who's is it then is the question." The white haired gunslinger sighed as he looked around the world of darkness. There really was nothing here. Just vast shadows, a void of sound and sight, a crumpled armored form, and no horizon in the-wait.

His head snaps further to his right to find a familiar dark purple, almost bordering on black, armored figure crumpled on the inky black floor, his body still.

Even in this darkness, that dark armor was far too distinct and unique to mistaken for anyone else.

The Berserker who was once the greatest knight of the Round Table, Lancelot of the Lake.

The red glow that was always visible in the slit of his helm was gone, and the wispy violet horsetail that protruded from the back of his helmet was slack, flattened on the ground.

'So that's who the second person that jumped in after us was..' Emiya narrowed his eyes. He was familiar with working with the Berserker as well. While he worked well with the Cursed Arm Hassan especially well due to their shared methodology of quickly and efficiently taking out threats, he also worked surprisingly well with this utterly insane Berserker. He was a good meat shield, and with his Eternal Arms Mastery, Emiya was able to supply Lancelot with his own uniquely modified Noble Phantasms to give the Berserker a greater edge in battle.

"So how long's he been out like a light?"

"Ever since I awoke myself. I am not sure how long ago that was. Time seems to have no meaning here. I have yet to see his awakeni-ah."

As if on cue, the armored form of Lancelot began to shift and stir. Immediately, the other two Servants tensed up, the Hassan drawing out a dagger as he shifted his previously sitting stance into a low crouch, while Emiya quickly traced his modified Kanshou and Bakuya, training them onto the Berserker's form. With the explosive fury of the Knight of the Lake, one couldn't be too careful.

One of the black knight's clawed gauntlets slowly began to scratch and grab at the ground, trying to find purchase as the other hand pressed itself flat to the floor, slowly pushing himself up. His helmet clad head slowly bobbed and stirred as he began to look around, groaning. "G-grr... ngah... where.. where am I..?"

Emiya's fingers tensed up on the triggers of his firearms, Cursed Arm slowly shifting his stance beside him. That wasn't right. Lancelot wasn't capable of proper speech, he was so embroiled in his Madness Enhancement that the most he could do was let out single words, most of which was mixed into his screaming.

The dark armored knight slowly got onto his hands and knees, before managing to prop one knee up and pushing himself into a standing position, his armor rattling as he groaned and stretched. The right light of his helmet's visor was still eerily absent.

There was already something utterly 'wrong' about this entire scenario, and now a strangely lucid Lancelot was adding to that feeling.

As if realizing something wasn't quite right with himself, Lancelot suddenly began to paw at his helmet, his posture stiffening. "Wait.. no.. what have I..? Why am I wearing.."

Simple patting and feeling for his helm turned into scrambled scratching and grasping as he struggled to remove his helmet. Emiya almost felt the need to remind the Berserker that he could just dematerialize the helm since they were Servants, but by the time he decided to actually vocalize his idea, the frantic man had already managed to pull off his helmet and toss it to the ground.

The face that greeted the other two Servants was strangely familiar.

It was a youthful one. An eerily young face, with dark violet hair that was combed back into some sort of spiked mullet, pale blue eyes staring out at the world. He was handsome for sure, despite the dark rings under his eyelids and the somber expression on his face, so it wasn't a surprise that Lancelot was known to be quite the successful womanizer back when he was still sane, before he met King Arthur, and subsequently, Queen Guenevere.

The problem was that THIS particular face wasn't meant to be the one under the helm. By this point in life, Lancelot had grown his hair out into long wild locks, and his face was marred with worry lines. He would know, he was one of the ones who had to force that helmet off so that Nightingale could forcefully administer medication in an attempt to try and stabilize or reduce the level of his Madness Enhancement. It obviously didn't work. The fact Emiya even remembered that was also rather alarming since these days anything beyond yesterday was a mere blur to him.

Regardless, this wasn't the face that Lancelot was meant to have. This one was far more similar to the one his Saber equivalent had back in the Camelot Singularity.

As if finally noticing the other two combat ready Servants for the first time, Lancelot's eyes narrowed in confusion as he turned towards them. "...you two are.. Emiya Shirou.. and.. one of the Hashashin.. are you not? What is.. going on?"

The man, or youth's voice was rather scratchy and raspy, perhaps a side effect of how normally, he was screaming his lungs out. Emiya sighed and slowly lowered his guns as Cursed Arm stored away his dagger, finding no threat here. "Yeah, that's us. And you're Lancelot. You're oddly sane for someone who's usually growling and howling."

A twitch of a finger and tick in one of Lancelot's eyelids was the only indication Emiya got that the knight felt any sort of offense from that statement. "Yes.. I am not sure what's happened.. it is.. like a haze was over me, like I have been half asleep and dreaming for a long time.. and then suddenly everything is clear.. what happened? Where are we?"

"To put it bluntly, our Master got too close to the edge of the cliff when we battle Tiamat, and something from within the Goddess' sea of darkness managed to grab her and drag her off." The ebony skinned Assassin began to explain as he slowly sat down again, lightly adjusting his bandaged arm. "Emiya leaped in after her, and then I did, and I remember hearing you screaming as you jumped after us. In hindsight, it was a foolish endeavor for us to jump in after her without any sort of plan, but here we are. All I know is there was a fourth Servant that jumped in after us, but whoever it was is not here."

Lancelot's lips slowly fell into a frown as his brow furrowed. "So that means the Servant either perished.."

"Or managed to find a way out of here." Emiya finished as he dismissed his weapons and slowly crossed his arms. "Not only that, our Master isn't here either. And yet.."

"You can still feel the connection." Cursed Arm tilted his head, receiving a slow nod from Emiya. "I can as well. It seems she is still alive. Whatever her condition is however, I do not know. The connection is faint, but still there."

The three Servants slowly fell into a lull of silence after that, before Lancelot began to look around and shift awkwardly, prompting a dry look from Emiya.

"Don't tell me you have to go to the bathroom or something."

"What? No, of course not, why would you think that?"

"You're shifting like a student busting to empty his bladder. Look the part too if it weren't for the armor."

"What are you talking about?"

Emiya sighed and traced Bakuya. Not exactly a mirror, but its gleaming polished surface would work well enough as he stood up and walked towards Lancelot, before all but shoving the flat end of the gun's blade close to the knight's face. "See? You.. look.."

While Lancelot's eyes widened as he took in his own appearance through the reflection on the blade, Emiya's jaw threatened to drop as he finally stared at his own. The face that greeted him in the blade's mirror-like surface was the last thing he expected, nor wanted, to see.

His hair was messy and spiked, but still cut short enough that none of the bangs entered his field of vision. His face wasn't as defined and squared as before. His eyes were still yellow, and his skin still dark, but the structure of his face was one he hadn't seen in a long, long time.

The Altered Counter Guardian EMIYA stared into his reflection, and the youthful visage of Emiya Shirou stared back.

In a rare moment of shock and comraderie, the two stunned Servants stared at their reflections and slowly uttered to themselves.

"Son of a bitch.

"Good lord in heaven."

* * *

Time slowly passed. It could have been hours, or mere minutes, it was hard to tell.

After the shocking revelation that the three Servants had somehow reverted to a younger age, Emiya dryly turned to his Assassin companion and asked the tall Servant why he hadn't said anything. Of course an Assassin had to answer pragmatically.

 _"Our appearances are far younger than before, however I have seen no difference in our actual Prana levels or any other changes besides our ages. Therefore I did not think it prudent to inform you on this odd detail. It is most likely a side effect from this Reality Marble, or from surviving Tiamat's Ether."_

Emiya didn't like that answer, but to be honest, he probably would have done the same thing. Their appearances were not important, though Lancelot seemed to think otherwise since the dark knight was clearly still stunned and occasionally ran his armored hand through his purple hair with a wistful and nostalgic expression.

So here they sat in a circle, wondering, and waiting.

"Whoo, man, talk about a workout!"

The sudden exclamation had them all leaping to their feet, Emiya drawing out Kanshou and Bakuya, Cursed Arm flipping out a dagger, and Lancelot pulling out... his mini-gun.

"Whoa whoa whoa, chill!" The source of the voice yelped out from several feet off to the right side of where Cursed Arm was sitting, a pitch black figure of shadows with wide eyes and black pupils standing there. Slowly, the shadows receded to reveal the heavily tattooed form of the Servant closest to their Master, and the one she always took into battle without exception despite his protests.

The first Avenger, Angra Mainyu.

Seeing the familiar figure, Emiya sighed as he once again dismissed Kanshou and Bakuya, muttering to himself about wasting energy, before he turned to look at Lancelot with a deadpan expression as he gestured towards the knight's mini-gun.

"Isn't that overkill?"

"I-I apologize, I am feeling very out of sorts and jumpy." The suddenly bashful Berserker chuckled nervously as he dismissed his choice of weapon when going all out.

"I'll say, jeez." Angra Mainyu smirked as he walked closer. "Alright, good to see you're all awake, I was coming to get you guys anyway!"

"Considering you appeared from nowhere, I'm guessing you know the way out of here?" Cursed Arm tilted his head, receiving a grin and a cheery thumbs up from the Avenger.

"Of course I do, I made this place!"

"Didn't know you had the power to do that." Emiya narrowed his eyes.

"Well, Command Seals do funky things when you take advantage of what you've got."

The differing levels of stunned expressions the other three Servants developed just made Angra Mainyu's grin widen. "Oh yeah, its all thanks to Master that I managed to make this place. I'm still connected to the Fuyuki Grail, no matter what timeline we're in, but I can't exactly abuse it without enough power. Thanks to Master's last Command Seal though, I managed to force the connection to funnel some power through, and bam! I transported us out of Tiamat's weirdly enticing embrace using an 'On-The-Spot' modified version of my own Reality Marble, and into somewhere.. else."

So that explains the complete darkness, was the collective thought the other three had. Emiya's lips thinned as he suddenly felt foolish. Of course. The only other Servant Gudako had with a Reality Marble was Angra Mainyu. He didn't think to draw that conclusion because the Avenger was both ridiculously weak, and he could only access his main Noble Phantasm, Verg Avesta, when he fought for Chaldea. The Reality Marble he used was another story entirely, something he only ever used and maintained once in another "Sixth" Holy Grail War of Fuyuki, to cause a temporal loop on the city in response to one Bazett Fraga McRemitz' dying wish.

The last part of his explanation drew some concern though.

"What do you mean somewhere 'else'?"

"Wellll.. here's the Good News and Bad News. The Good News is that our lovely Master is safe, and she's being healed and cared for!" The tattooed Servant replied with a toothy grin, before his face slowly fell into a rather sheepish grimace. "The Bad News is that we gotta enroll in this crazy school that teaches kids how to kill monsters for the next few years."

The collective stare of both disdain and confusion from the other three made him fidget, as they all somehow managed to utter one word in complete sync.

"What."

"Look I swear it'll make sense in just a moment."

* * *

 _So... I haven't updated any of my stories in years and then suddenly hey, I'm back, with a new story! I'm sure whoever follows me must be confused. Well, to answer where I've been, I've still been around, if anyone noticed my list of favorite stories slowly growing in size. I have also been more active in my Deviantart account, though I haven't gotten on that in a long while either._

 _Life has been.. weird, ever since highschool ended. Its tough trying to keep it together when your closest friends, the only ones that actually really motivated you to get through school, all split off to different corners of the country, or even the oceanic region, to chase their dreams and ambitions. Now, being someone with NO ambition to speak of myself, I felt rather listless. I tried enrolling in an art university for a few years, recently dropped out of that a few months ago though due to falling sick too many times in a row and missing certain classes. So, I've found myself completely, and utterly without purpose or drive. I lost the will to mess around on MikuMikuDance or reply to the Digimon roleplay group I've been a part of since highschool, and I essentially became stricken with Apathy Syndrome I guess._

 _But as I mused and thought to myself and tried to figure out what I wanted, I remembered, well, fanfiction, and that made me think of something I enjoyed more than just making pictures. I loved to make stories. I like writing, and creating characters of my own, in worlds of their own, with their own personalities, dreams, flaws and social networks._

 _So! I decided to try my hand at becoming an amateur novelist. I'm still in the process of writing the first chapter of my own book, a fantasy themed one following the tale of a young boy living in a world where most of the landmass has devolved into archipelagos and smatterings of small continents, full of fantastical sea creatures and of course, giant monsters. Its only my first novel, so I feel like starting off simple. Starting off with a child friendly story about friendship, overcoming your fears, and seeing the world._

 _Ahem, in any case, I'm still working on that, and I felt like giving this fanfic idea a try. I'm sure its nothing new. (X) characters from (X) world somehow get transported to Remnant, they join Beacon, etc etc. Its not a new formula and sometimes they all end up the same. I'm probably going to vaguely follow the trend, but hopefully, with my own key uniqueness._

 _So yeah, as for my reasoning for picking these four Servants specifically, its cuz I rarely see them get proper love in Fate. At first, the original concept of this Fanfic was going to be one where ALL the Hashashin get sent into Remnant with Gudako. Yeah, all of them. Including King Hassan. But then I thought about how difficult it would be for Hundred Face, Cursed Arm and Serenity to blend in right. Cursed Arm especially without the Deus Ex Machina I used in this. Plus, with the Great Founder being there too, they'd be a bit more paranoid at the risk of losing their heads (literally) for indulging in blending in too much. I dunno how accurate I would've been able to portray King Hassan, even with Gudako softening his personality up a bit, but everyone needs to remember that King Hassan is usually merciless and cold. That and there's the whole difficulty with portraying the Hashashin all together in Remnant in the first place due to their Religion and their beliefs, cuz in case nobody realized, they're all Muslim. Not just Muslim, but the ancient kind, back in the age where every major Religion today (Except Buddhists and Hindus, they're cool) believed that their belief was the only true one and any non-believers had to be slain. There's a bit of a problem in writing those kinds of characters in a (for the most part) Godless world. I 'could' just ignore the Religious problems entirely but I LOVE the Hashashin Servants, so I'd want to do them justice. So, I decided to change that idea and just use one Hassan in this. My favorite specifically. I can handle one of them, I believe that much. Hopefully without offending anyone._

 _As for the other three, I chose Angra Mainyu because he's the Deus Ex Machina on how this fanfic gets started in the first place, and he's one of my favorite characters in all of Type/Moon and I've loved his design ever since I read Hollow Ataraxia. Tattoos man, just... wow._

 _As for EMIYA Alter, or "Bobmiya" as some like to call him, well, it should be no surprise to people who've seen my list of favorite stories that I love Emiya Shirou's character. Thing is, Emiya Shirou himself is a pretty complex character to write sometimes, and hilariously, his older versions are surprisingly less complex since they've hit the end of their roads, where as Shirou's has just begun, so he has much room to grow. I didn't pick everyone's favorite snarky Archer because.. well, that's predictable. Too predictable. And after what I've learnt about EMIYA Alter, specifically that he's LOST his fucking sense of taste, and has developed a short term memory, he's become one of my favorite characters in Fate/Grand Order simply because of how tragic he is. I've always had a soft spot for Alter Servants._

 _As for how Gudako could have summoned him when she's still clearly in the Babylon arc, remember, Fate/Grand Order DOES have special gachas that rate up certain Servants, and Bobmiya has gotten several within the past few months, so you can assume that this is a special exception. If you're wondering why I don't just make the threat something from the later arcs instead of Tiamat to make Bobmiya's presence more likely then well.. I haven't actually cleared Camelot's arc yet, but I know enough about Tiamat and the Babylon arc to make references to it. I'd rather not write about future threats that I haven't gotten to. But I DO know Emiya, in all his forms, so I know enough about him and have listened to enough of his voice lines and interactions to get a good feel of how he talks and acts. He might be a teensy bit different than what you're used to in the story (or whatever translated parts exist) but hey, assume its from Chaldea softening him up. You can't always write certain characters completely accurately._

 _And finally, as for Lancelot, well, c'mon. I'm sure most of you can agree with me that when you saw this guy appear in the Fate/Zero anime and began to scream and roar as he fought Gilgamesh and then proceeded to go ballistic on Arturia, that you all collectively shat your pants. He's cool. He's strong. He's bloody intimidating when he goes berserk. He was also my first interaction with the world of Type/Moon. Years ago, back in the start of highschool, I hadn't heard of Fate/Stay Night or anything. Never even read a Visual Novel. And then in Japanese language class, this one substitute teacher who happened to be an otaku, he had a Fate/Zero wallpaper on his laptop, and the first thing that caught my eye was the image of this black knight decked in some of the coolest armor ever. Lancelot was literally the first thing I noticed, and when I asked who that character was, he just said 'Sir Lancelot'._

 _After a while, I forgot about the cool knight and the interesting and unique title of Fate/Zero, until my friend convinced me to read a Visual Novel cuz he said I'd like this one. And I saw the title of Fate/Stay Night, and though 'Huh, that sounds very familiar'. So I read it, and fell in love with the characters, and I finished every single route. And then I hungered for MORE. Then eventually, he gave me a copy of the Fate/Zero anime's episodes, and the instant I saw Lancelot, I felt like someone dumped cold water down my back. Just, a full body shudder as I saw that knight, rendered in beautiful Ufotable animation. It was awesome._

 _Alright, that's enough rambling for now. Hopefully I keep myself consistent with this fanfic. I dunno how long it'll take for me to start updating my other ones (Zero Perfection especially, don't worry guys, I haven't forgotten in, and I still have it all planned out. Just need more motivation to write it. Maybe I should play some Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 when I have free time to get into the mood.), but I will update them eventually, when I'm not writing my novel._

 _I'm back baby!_

 _...the saddest part about this is that I never actually managed to summon Emiya Alter or Lancelot. All my attempts landed me with other 4 Stars I never wanted like Gawain and Siegfried, or just Craft Essences._

 _I DO have Angra Mainyu and Cursed Arm though, hell, Cursed Arm was my first Grailed Servant, standing at a whopping level 79 right now, soon to be 80. Angra will be my next Servant to undergo Palingenesis, once I manage to actually get six more of those damn Spriggan seeds to ascend him to his 4_ _th_ _stage. I don't care if he's ridiculously weak, I am determined to max him out completely. I was denied Salieri and Jeanne Alter, I refuse to let Angra remain at such a low level._


	2. Our Shadows Look Good Together

_Hey hey, chapter two! First thing's first, I'm going to address some important things._

 _First, Gudako is going to remain Gudako in name. I know that Ritsuka Fujimaru is the canonical name of the protagonist, but the problem is, in case you didn't catch it somehow, Gudako here is Chaldea's 2_ _nd_ _master. Obviously, Ritsuka would be the first one. Gudako is going to be someone different, unrelated by blood to Ritsuka. I'm calling her Gudako because, well, been calling her that for years now. C'mon. Even before the OVA, I'm too used to calling her Gudako._

 _Second, this may sound weird, but try not post guest reviews. I know this sounds weird, but I'm just not keen on reviews I can't actually reply to in a PM or something in case an interesting question is raised up or a neat comment is posted. I mean, is it REALLY that hard to just make an account or download the app on your phone? I guess if you've got older phones or something then maybe.  
_

 _Third, is concerning personalities and powers. I may get some things wrong because I'm not the kind of diehard Nasuverse fan who plunges into the depths of lore and studies every miniscule detail to make sure every bit of character traits and Noble Phantasms is completely perfect. I'm not that detailed a person, and I'd get a headache. So, minor (and I mean as minor as I can manage) OOCness may be a thing, but again, most of the time we interact with Servants in FGO is either hearing voice lines when your bond increases and you interact with them in your room, or if they're an NPC in a Singularity. One of those cases has the Servant acting a tad bit differently, because the Chaldea version would be a bit more.. Pleasant I suppose, or bearable. So characters acting a tiny bit differently because of being softened up by Chaldea should be expected. Cursed Arm isn't going to just eat the flesh of his enemies to learn things just cuz he can. Emiya isn't going to start commiting genocide or putting bullets in people's heads just cuz he can.. Angra Mainyu isn't going to go all Hollow Ataraxia four day loop just cuz he can. Expect characters to act in slightly different manners is all I'm saying, but of course I'll try my best to keep them as realistically close to their in-game counterparts as possible._

 _Right, anything else I have to say can wait until the A.N at the end of the chapter. Assuming anyone even reads those._

* * *

Chapter Two: Our Shadows Look Good Together

* * *

 _"Psst. Angy."_

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"This part of your tattoo looks like a pine tree."_

 _"Huh, it does. How 'bout that?"_

 _In one of the many rooms of Chaldea reserved for the Masters (only two of which are actually occupied by their intended residents), Angra Mainyu sat on the plush single bed, one leg raised up, folded at the knee, the other resting on the actual sheets, crossed behind the other. Huddled up next to him was the second Master of Chaldea, Gudako. That wasn't her real name of course, it was a nickname stamped onto her for the lack of people remembering her actual full name._

 _Nobody really cared in the end, to Chaldea, Gudako was Gudako, a unique person like any other Master in command of Servants. She was the polar opposite to her colleague, Fujimaru Ritsuka. Whereas the male Master was a calm sort of boy, nothing too spectacular, just an all-around pleasant person, Gudako was very active and loud, and was very.. eccentric, for lack of a better word._

 _'Honestly, she's such a kid sometimes.' The Avenger mused to himself as the orange haired teen continued to trace her fingers along his tattoos. "Don't you ever get bored of this? You've seen my tattoos plenty of times up close!"_

 _"Can't help it, its just so... neat!"_

 _"Neat is about the last thing I'd use to describe all this."_

 _"C'mon, don't be stingy. I gave you that magazine to give you something to do while I look at you, right?"_

 _True enough, in Angra Mainyu's hands was a large magazine, one on guns. While the Avenger wasn't actually capable of wielding firearms (THAT was the forte of a scant few Archers and a pair of Berserkers in Chaldea), he still enjoyed looking at them. After all, these were weapons made to kill other humans, and that was something he himself was unmatched in. In quality anyway. The damn beast of Gaia had won that competition in the actual amount of people it could kill within minutes, seconds even, by a landslide._

 _"Where'd you even get this?"_

 _"Nicked it from Emiya."_

 _"Which one?"_

 _"You know that's a dumb question silly." Gudako raised her head to grin up at her Servant, who simply rolled his eyes._

 _"Right, right, the tragic one."_

 _"Don't say it like that! His history is so sad!" The ginger haired Master lightly slapped Angra Mainyu's chest. "I asked him what he'd want from the Holy Grail if he obtained it, and you know what he did? He just burst out laughing! It was sad, and scary too!"_

 _"Peh, the Emiya family's got shit track record with Holy Grails."_

 _"Isn't that your fault?"_

 _"I certainly ain't denying it." The Zoroastrian Servant flashed a toothy grin at his Master, who simply pouted and slapped his chest again. "Ouch, hey that actually hurts you know?"_

 _"You deserve it for being an ass. You're a Servant, suck it up."_

 _"I'm also the WEAKEST Servant, remember? You just love abusing me, don't you?" He narrowed his eyes a little at the girl huddled up against him as he huffed._

 _"I certainly ain't denying it." Gudako replied with a cheeky grin, prompting another roll of the eyes from her Servant before he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close._

 _"Cheeky little brat."_

 _"Don't gimme that look, you know you love me!"_

 _"'Reluctantly Tolerating' more like.." The dark skinned Avenger muttered before sighing. "Why did you even ask him what he wanted with a Grail?"_

 _"I like going around asking what my Servants would've wanted with one. I mean, it's the main reason they become Servants in the first place, right? To win a Holy Grail with their Master and get a wish? I just like knowing what they want out of it." Gudako chirped, her eyes going half-lidded as she grins. "Why? Jealous I didn't ask you?"_

 _"I mean, not really. I 'was' a Grail once, remember? Hell, still connected to the same one right now."_

 _That statement caused his Master to sit up straighter as she stared at her Servant with an odd look. "You.. are? Like, the one in Fuyuki you mean? You're still connected to it?"_

 _"Yep. Holy Grails are weird things, transcending time and space. Even outside the timelines I was originally summoned in, I'm still connected to the Fuyuki Grail. Guess its cuz I corrupted it THAT badly." He looked disturbingly proud of that fact as he set down the magazine and crossed his arms._

 _"Wait, so why are you squishier than toilet paper getting flushed? And.. can you grant wishes?"_

 _Angra Mainyu slowly turned his head to look at his Master dead on, noticing the rather pensive expression on her face. His grin dimmed just the tiniest bit as he shook his head._

 _"Well, both of those are connected to the same reason. I'm still connected to the Grail in Fuyuki, but the connection isn't actually open. Its more like I've got a thin piece of string wrapped around my pinkie, and the other end is wrapped around the Grail. I can't actually use the Grail unless something forces open the connection. It'd have to be something that can tell the laws of time and space to fuck off too. Like another Grail, or one of those shiny red Command Seals on your hand." Yellow eyes glinted with amusement as he pointed at Gudako's right hand, the white clad Master glancing at her three marks with raised eyebrows._

 _"Huh.. that's neat."_

 _"Yep. Even then, I'd rather not actually open up the connection here, cuz, well, I have that little niggling feeling in the back of my head that says trying to use the Fuyuki Greater Grail, while in Chaldea, might mess up whatever system they've got here."_

 _Gudako nods, grimacing a bit. Messing up Chaldea's inner workings and causing everything to possibly de-stabilize because she wants to see if her Servant can grant a wish would probably not be a smart move. "Yeah, guess so..."_

 _The two sat in silence for a few moments before Angra Mainyu leaned a bit closer, wrapping an arm around his Master's shoulder. "Telllll you what though. If we're ever in a pickle in some Singularity, or if we're just on a supply run and you really want something, just give the order, and I'll open the connection and grant you a wish. Any wish at all!"_

 _"Really!?" Gudako's dark orange eyes were practically sparkling as she smiled widely. "Any at all?"_

 _"Any wish at all, as many as you want, no matter what. I may be a weak-ass Servant, but I'm good for 'some' things!" The Avenger smirks as he jabs a thumb at himself, before grunting and feeling the air leave his lungs as his Master lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his body._

 _"Awww, you're the best Angy!"_

 _"Yeah yeah, no problem."_

 _The two remained like that on the bed for a few moments before the tattooed Servant spoke up once more._

 _"So does that mean I'm getting some tonight?"_

 _"I thought you were the one granting MY wishes, not the other way around." Gudako grinned as she started to inch her face closer to her Servant's, her arms reaching up to undo her uniform.  
_

 _The two spent the rest of the night exchanging little words, and many actions._

* * *

Everything was darkness. Not a single speck of light could be found. There was nothing here, nothing at all. No breeze, no sky, no floor. Just pitch black shadows that went on forever. An infinite darkness. An endless void.

Honestly, he preferred it this way.

Angra Mainyu stretched his arms as he sat cross-legged on the pitch black floor. "So I guess my gamble paid off, eh? We're alive."

Silence greeted him, save for the gentle breathing of those around him that remained unconscious.

The Avenger slowly looked around at his companions in this dark world. Three other Servants, the tragic hero of Justice, the disproportionate Assassin, and the mad armored dog.

He 'could' call them by their actual names but honestly, he didn't care about them. Not really. Maybe a tiny bit, but he wasn't exactly in a 'caring' mood. Not after what he had to pull off.

Connecting to the Fuyuki Grail was risky for sure, and it almost threatened to swallow him back up into it, tearing him away from his Master. But, he powered through it. There were actual lives at stake, three of which he just barely had a passing semblance of care for, and one that he outright refused to live without.

The owner of said life was currently unconscious, her head resting on his lap. Her orange hair was dirty and messy, completely let down due to her hair band being.. devoured? Destroyed? Assimilated? Either way, her hair was filthy with dirt, grime, and blood. The roots of her hair were paler than the rest, the stress and trauma from being slowly assimilated into Tiamat's Sea of Life causing her to undergo a sudden Marie Antoinette Syndrome. Not enough to turn her hair completely white, but just enough to cause some of it to lose saturation.

Her Chaldea uniform was torn and ragged, stained black and red with blood and corruption. Her leggings, most of her sleeves, and her actual shoes were completely demolished, very few scraps of their fabric remaining attached to her.

Angra Mainyu stared down at his Master with a noticeably worried look. "Damn.. still not looking too good for you.."

His eyes were staring right at Gudako's face, the source of his worries. Her skin was currently not a very healthy looking complexion. Parts of her skin all over her body had turned dark, almost as if she was burnt. It was the same shade that the Ushiwakamaru of Babylon's Singulairty had developed after being swallowed. Angry red veins were visible in various parts of Gudako's body, particularly around her neck and limbs.

She wasn't looking too good, but it was certainly a step up from the mangled and half assimilated mess she was before.

It has been roughly three days since Angra Mainyu acknowledged Gudako's final command, and activated his second Noble Phantasm. He knew how long its been simply by looking at Gudako's right hand. Three Command Seals rested on the back of her hand, untouched by the corruption.

This wasn't the same Reality Marble he used in Fuyuki. No, this was an alteration, a tweaked version of his original Unlimited Raise Dead: Infinite Ruin. He didn't think it was necessary to give this alternate version a name of its own though. It wasn't as if he was going to use it again.

A Reality Marble that embodies the 'Nothingness' he represents, it enveloped himself, his Master, and the other three unfortunate bastards that leapt in after her. Manipulating the power he used to caused a time loop in the "Sixth" Grail War, he changed it so that instead of looping time, it reversed it, in an attempt to fix the damage done to himself and his companions by Tiamat's "Good Graces". The Reality Marble wasn't like others however, in that it enforced the user's soul, their 'Reality' onto the physical world, this one instead took things from the physical world and stashed them away into another. It was like a Marble Phantasm in that it certainly had more than one simple use, but it was also akin to True Magic, the likes of which only the Kaleidoscope himself would normally be capable of. It tore Angra Mainyu, Gudako, Emiya, the Cursed Arm Hassan, and Lancelot, out of Tiamat's clutches, and into the pocket dimension, which then anchored itself... somewhere else. Somewhere as far away from Tiamat as possible, beyond time and space itself.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that he was temporarily powered by a Greater Grail when he used this, the reversal of time didn't fix everything, as evidenced by Gudako's current state. Tiamat was something that was invincible as long as 'Humanity' existed, and Gudako was very much human. Even cut off from the primordial Goddess, her taint remained etched into Gudako's skin. Right now, Angra Mainyu had done all he could to fix her soul and mind, but her body was another story. On the outside, she was, despite appearances, fine. But the inside was another story. She'd need actual medical attention to fix the damage done to her organs.

The other three Servants were another story. Because they are technically spiritual entities, the damage done to them went beyond the physical, and in a way, was much more serious. Angra Mainyu had to really force his Reality Marble to reverse the damage done to them.

Somehow he went a tad bit too far. While he managed to fix whatever damage they had received while being devoured, he also accidentally forced their physical forms to revert to an earlier stage in their life. Much earlier. By about a few decades.

Oops.

In any case, the other three Servants were fine. Gudako needed some actual help. He wasn't going to be able to keep this world of darkness up for much longer, not without risking his own life. The connection to the Grail was starting to slowly close, and soon the Reality Marble would start using his own reserves as fuel instead of the Grail.

Glancing at the other three Servants for a brief moment, Angra Mainyu slowly picked up his Master, holding her in a bridal carry as he started to walk away from the others, his body slowly turning pitch black, with only his eyes remaining visible with eerie white sclera and solid black iris.

"Right.. let's see where we ended up. Hopefully somewhere close to civilization. Who knows, maybe we scored lucky and ended up in a Singularity?"

With that, his body, and Gudako's, sank into the shadows as they vanished from the void.

* * *

"What the fuck."

Literally the first thing the Avenger noticed upon exiting his Reality Marble, was that the moon was shattered.

"No, seriously, WHAT THE FUCK!?"

His exclamation went unnoticed and unheard in the dark forest, the leaves a pleasant reddish orange color, as if it was autumn, or fall. Leaves drifted to the ground and around his body as he stared wide eyed up at the moon, his mouth agape.

"This... definitely isn't Earth then.. I think.. fuck, were there any Singularities where the moon was shattered?"

He started to walk, tearing his gaze away from the pale fracture satellite as he looked at the forest around him.

"No, I don't think so.. there definitely wasn't one.. what the hell could even DO that? Least I don't have to worry about any Crimson Moons I guess but still.. where the fuck are we?"

The only response he received was a small groan from the girl in his arms, and the gentle rustle of the leaves in the wind. Angra Mainyu grit his teeth lightly as he shook his head. "Something nasty happened in this world, that's for sure. I really don't wanna meet whatever the hell caused the moon to-eh?"

Immediately, he halted in place, as he heard a sound. No, multiple sounds. Stomping sounds. The sounds of leaves crinkling under feet, and growls coming from multiple beings.

Slowly, he turned around.

It was almost like looking into a mirror.

"Did.. did I die a few times in that Reality Marble without realizing?"

There were several creatures bounding towards him. Lupine in nature, with fanged maws and shadowy bodies of darkness, claws that raked at the ground with every step, and glowing red eyes.

These things looked like wolf men, and they looked very similar to his Shades, or even the bestial form he takes upon activating his true Noble Phantasm.

The only real difference was that they had masks on, bone white with red markings.

They were also currently on a warpath towards him, and very, VERY hungry looking.

His heart began to pound as a feral grin spread on his lips. Something about those creatures was calling to him. He felt... excited. There was something so very familiar about these things, not just in shape, but the very feel of them, their presence was strange, menacing, yet alluring, disgusting, yet delicious. He felt a hunger, a need to rip and tear and kill.

It took him half a second to snap out of it when he realized he couldn't do anything about these urges. In his hands was his Master, and she was not in good shape. He couldn't fight with only one hand, that's for sure, and there were a LOT of those things. Seven of them, a decent sized hunting pack.

Heaving out a sigh, the Avenger tightened his grip on Gudako and did one of the many things he was best at.

He turned around, and immediately ran for it.

And so the chase began.

* * *

"Fucking persistent shits!" The tattooed Servant growled out as he leapt over a fallen tree and continued to run, the howls of the creatures behind him ever present.

He'd been running for roughly fifteen minutes now. Every damn tree looked exactly the same as the last, and his only hint towards civilization was the distant silhouette of some kind of... mountain? Castle? Either way, he didn't exactly have many options, and unless he was willing to risk Gudako getting blindsided by one of these things when he puts her down to fend them off, he couldn't try to kill them.

"Doesn't look like I'm gonna get much of a choice now.." Angra Mainyu muttered as he looked over his shoulder. The creatures were closing in fast now. Did they not tire out or anything? They had to have been some sort of Daemon or something if they could keep up with a Servant running at full speed, or at least as close to that as possible without aggravating his Master's injuries.

"Okay, fuck it, hold on for a moment Goodie-Bags, this won't take long." He huffs as he leaps up towards a tree, his momentum allowing him to run up the side and into the branches. As quickly as he could manage, he sets his comatose Master in the center of the tree, her body surrounded by branches. That was as safe as she was gonna get.

Feeling the tree shake as the wolf-like creatures began to batter at it and attempt to climb, he took a step back and leap into the air, flipping acrobatically before within a small flash of red light, two twisted weapons appeared in his hands.

The Fang Grinders, Tawrich and Zairich. Sword breakers, brutal weapons made to eviscerate humans..

And also surprisingly good boomerangs.

One of the shadow creatures that had made it halfway up the tree suddenly found itself in agonizing pain, if it could feel, as the two weapons come spinning through the air like shuriken and carve right through its arms, causing the beast to fall onto one of the others below it.

Almost in unison, the wolves froze and slowly turned around to look at Angra Mainyu, snarling. The Avenger flashed a cocky grin, spreading his arms out.

"Come get some, bitches!"

Like a switch had been flipped, the beasts howled, except for the one that was currently splayed out and struggling to get up due to missing its front limbs. The remaining six wolf men snarled and snapped their teeth as they charged, three darting towards the left of the Servant, two more taking the right side, in an effort to surround him, as the larger, remaining one with more intricate looking bone plates charged right at the tattooed Servant.

"Ready... steady..." Yellow eyes narrowed as he bent at the knees, his fingers splayed in a claw-like fashion as he spreads his feet apart, his teeth bared in a snarling smile.

The assumed Alpha was getting closer, four feet, three, two...

"Now!" Mere moments before the beast got close enough to snap its jaws around his head, Angra Mainyu leapt up and slammed its mouth shut by ramming his heel into its forehead, before proceeding to use its skull as a springboard, sending its muzzle crashing straight into the ground as he rocketed up into the air, his arms spread as he found his targets. Not the beasts.

No, his weapons.

Zairich and Tawrich came spinning back through the air towards him, incidentally also cleaving through the armless wolf creature's legs as well, leaving it completely amputated. With a short barking laugh, he grabbed the two weapons by their handles and began to fall. The Alpha was still recovering, having only just pulled its snout from the soil, before it felt the twisted, jagged blades of the Jaw Grinders carving right through its shoulders and down, all the way to its legs. It howled before turning and swiping at the offender, barely missing Angra Mainyu as he back flipped away, cackling.

"At least you bleed red just like everything else! Show me more-GAKH!"

He was promptly cut off by the jaws of two of the flanking wolf creatures clamping down on his forearms.

He certainly wasn't a stranger to pain, no, him and pain were strange bedfellows. But that didn't change the fact that feeling teeth sink into his biceps hurt like fuck.

The direct contact with these creatures... was also doing something. Within seconds of their fangs piercing his skin, he felt... anger. And hate. So much hatred. It was nothing but a pure, unadulterated lust for destruction, a hatred towards humanity that was intense to the point of being palpable.

It reminded him so much of himself honestly.

These things, these... creatures of.. Grimm? Now where did that name come from? It was fitting though.. these disturbing mockeries of his own true image upon activating his Noble Phantasm, they were certainly grim looking. However...

"You... call.. this.. p-pain? You call t-this.. hate!?" Angra Mainyu snarled. Were it any other situation, even he would be surprised at his behavior. He doesn't snarl like that. He doesn't get this angry. The last time he remembered being this furious was when he cursed Emiya Kiritsugu.

These creatures wanted to play seriously? Alright then.

He'll give them serious.

The Avenger's tattoos suddenly began to glow bright red, and the beasts biting him froze in place.

The wolf Grimm around him froze in place.

And though he didn't realize it, almost every other Grimm within the entire forest froze in place, their heads turned towards him.

Humans wouldn't understand what was currently happening if they saw this event. After all, not many people can sense emotions.

But the Grimm, they were born to sense negative emotions. It was those kinds of feelings that drew them towards people in the first place.

So for the Grimms' sense, it was as if a flashbang went off in their face before they suddenly found themselves buried to the ears in tar. A sudden wave of negative feelings washed over the forest. It was like they found an ocean of hatred and anger and they were getting swallowed up by the tide.

Angra Mainyu flashed a feral grin as he glared at the other wolf creatures. Beowolves. Yes, that's what they were called. He didn't know why or how he knew that, but maybe there was something to how these things felt so similar to him after all.

The Beowolves stared at him, their bodies frozen in place before they slowly started to walk towards him. Other Grimm were starting to pour from around the clearing, Beowolves and bear-like Grimm.

This source of pure, negative energy...

They hungered for it.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? You wanted some of this, right?" The Avenger smirked as they drew closer, their maws opening up. Oh, this was going to hurt.

 ** _"Come and get some."_**

What happened next was nothing short of carnage.

In seconds, the creatures descended upon him, and began to bite.

They began to tear.

They began to eat.

And all the Avenger did was laugh, as if it was the funniest thing he had ever felt.

* * *

Elsewhere in the world, far beyond the reach of humanity, there was a castle that stood in a wasteland of dark reds and purples. Black pools of dark tar-like substance were dotted around the structure.

Seated inside the building atop of a throne, a woman stirred. Her skin was alabaster white, her hair pale like the webs of a spider, and her eyes the shade of blood, surrounded by pitch black sclera. Red veins lined her skin, and an inky black robe hung from her womanly figure. Despite her inhuman traits, there was no denying a certain sort of beauty to her eldritch nature.

She felt something. A prickling at her senses. Her children were rallying elsewhere in the world. They found something to eat. Something... strong. Something so hateful and angry at the world. It was enough to make them forget everything and indulge themselves.

It wasn't until she realized that whatever it was they were eating wasn't dying that she began to wake up fully, her eyes narrowed. "What..?"

Blood soaked tattoos glowed brighter and brighter, as the corpse beneath the beasts whispered out.

 ** _"Verg... Avesta."_**

And within the span of three seconds, the body suddenly burst into shadows as a large lupine creature made of pitch black darkness rose up.

The woman froze in place. She could see it. A creature, something so much like a Beowolf, yet its body was completely inky black as if it absorbed light simply by existing. Its eyes were not just red, they were a shade of orange as well, and trailed eerily across its black surface like flames.

Her fingers gripped the armrests of her throne tightly, cracking the surface of the chair from the strength of her grip. So much loathing for humanity. A loathing that rivaled her own.

And through the eyes of her children, she saw the beast suddenly glow bright white, a network of ancient red markings covering its entire body, before she lost the connection with her children.

The Queen of Grimm jolted violently in her seat, her back suddenly hitting the back of her seat as she gasped, her eyes widening in shock. A small trail of blood, a red so dark it bordered on black, began to trickle down from the side of her lips and one of her nostrils, before she stemmed the flow and healed herself.

That actually hurt her.

Something managed to hurt her from this far away. It must have been due to how closely she was watching it that her connection caused her to feel the pain her children did for a brief moment.

And what a wonderful pain it was.. the sensation of being torn apart and eaten alive, suddenly magnified twofold and returned to her Grimm in full force.

Dozens of Grimm, lost, in less than a few seconds.

And yet, Salem couldn't be happier, as a wide smile formed on her lips.

"Milady, are you alright!?" A voice called out from the entrance to the throne room, as a mustached man by the name of Arthur Watts suddenly burst in, having heard the gasp and the slam of her back against the throne. He was flanked by two others, a heavily muscled man named Hazel, and a lanky man named Tyrian.

The Queen of Grimm didn't look their way, she simply stared off into the distance, smiling widely.

Slowly, a small chuckle escaped her lips.

"Y-your grace?" Tyrian stuttered out, smiling hopefully. "Did... something happen?"

His only answer was the low chuckle slowly rising in volume before it became a loud, horrifying cackle, the Witch laughing almost hysterically as she stood up from her throne and almost floated towards the window.

The three followers of Salem could only stand there in an odd mixture of shock, awe, and horror.

What the hell had gotten their Queen so.. hysterical?

Suddenly, Salem's laughter halted, and she took a deep breath, before the familiar calm and cold expression slid back onto her face as she turned to look at her followers.

"My loyal Servants... it seems I am not alone after all in this conquest."

"M-milady?" Tyrian gulped, not daring to take his eyes off his master.

"Rejoice, Tyrian, Arthur, Hazel... for it seems you will be serving a King as well in the possible future."

Salem couldn't help but chuckle once more at the looks on their faces.

* * *

At ground zero, there was nothing but piles upon piles of slowly disintegrating bodies. The Grimm were turning into wisps of darkness, as a single body slowly stood up.

"Whew... now THAT was fucking intense." Angra Mainyu muttered before he blinked and looked at his hands. His body was pitch black once more, back in his true form of nothing more than a silhouette of a man. Whoops.

Several seconds later, his body regained color and definition as he climbed up the tree and picked up his thankfully undisturbed Master and dropped back down to the forest to continue walking.

That.. was not quite how Verg Avesta was supposed to work.

"Pretty sure I couldn't take THAT much pain before it activates.. did I even have any lungs left when I invoked it?" He muttered, slowly striding away from the vanishing corpses of the Grimm. It was as if his tolerance level for damage was raised for his Noble Phantasm.

Oh well. What mattered was he got his violent urges sorted, and he drew some.. interesting information from those things.

They were called Grimm. The ones that were eating him in particular were Beowolves, and then there were the bears. Ursa.

But there was something else he could feel.. something.. watching him through them. Someone was controlling them, maybe? Or perhaps just noticed him and observed.

Whatever it was, he made it known that he wasn't in the mood for any voyeurs. For a brief moment, as his Noble Phantasm activated, he felt.. kinship with something. Or someone.

He loved his Master (He wouldn't be caught dead saying that though), but damn, whatever he felt that connection to almost felt closer to him in seconds than Gudako ever managed to be in months. He almost felt horrible about that thought.

Though she did shamelessly ogle other male Servants when given the chance, so maybe he just needed to treat this like that. Whatever he felt that connection with, whoever it was, they were far, far away. Somewhere he wouldn't reach for a long time at least.

With that, he continued to walk for several minutes, until he realized he could hear a dull humming. Coming from right in front of him.

Blinking, he broke through the treeline and found something interesting.

There was a person standing right in front of him, several dozen feet away.

A man wearing a comfortable, yet formal looking suit stood in front of a large, metal vehicle of some sort. The kind used for flight. His eyes were a warm brown and were covered by round spectacles, and his hair reminded him of that other Master's, Ritsuka, in style, but this man's was colored an ashen gray. He was holding onto a mug of what he could only assume was coffee in one hand, the other resting upon a cane.

"Good evening. A nice night, is it not?" The man asked, his tone calm and rather amused as he took a sip of his coffee.

"I mean.. yeah, pretty good night for a walk in Grimm infested woods. Could do without the Beowolves though." Angra Mainyu replied, grinning as he walked closer. "Sooooo... what brings a fancy looking guy like you out here?"

"Oh, nothing much. I just happened to be skimming over the security feed for the Forever Fall forests when I stumbled across a peculiar looking individual running away from a pack of Beowolves with an unconscious person in his arms. Of course, that wouldn't be enough for myself to leave my office in the middle of the night, not normally, but I happened to see something rather interesting." The bespectacled man smiled wryly as he pulled out a... what was that? It looked like one of those data tablet things some of the workers at Chaldea use. The man pulled it out and turned it around so the screen faced the Avenger.

It was playing a recording of him getting devoured by the Grimm, before his Noble Phantasm activated and the feed cut off.

"So of course, I found myself concerned, and interested. So, I am here for two reasons. One is to inquire upon what and who you are exactly. And two, is to take you out right here and now should I not like the answer."

"Riiiiight.. look, its been a long night. And my Mas-girlfriend here is hurt. Badly. Do you have like, some sort of doctor somewhere close by?" Angra Mainyu sighed as his shoulders slumped a bit.

"There is an infirmary at my school, yes."

"School? Ah whatever, look, if you take her there and patch her up, I'll tell you whatever you wanna know. Trust me, not exactly willing to pick a fight right now, especially after dealing with those assholes back there."

The man hummed briefly before taking a sip from his coffee as his auburn eyes remained locked onto Angra Mainyu's pale yellow ones.

"Very well then, those terms are acceptable. Come, the Bullhead will take us there. You can talk as we ride, mister..."

"Angra Mainyu. And, erm, thanks, mister..."

"Ozpin."

* * *

The ride was.. quiet, besides the dull rumble of the aircraft. Bullhead. Whatever.

Angra Mainyu couldn't help but fidget a bit as he ran his fingers through Gudako's hair, frowning as he looked at the dulled color. He missed how fiery her hair always looked. Now it was a bit paler, losing saturation.

"You care for her a great deal."

The Avenger lifted his eyes to stare at the man, Ozpin, sitting across from him. He seemed almost.. surprised, and also rather curious.

"If I were the sentimental type, I'd say I loved her, but honestly, I'm more used to hating people so I'm not even sure what love feels like." Angra Mainyu shrugged as he stared back down at his Master. "But this feels damn close I guess."

"I see. So that at least disproves my first theory on what you are."

"What, thought I was a Grimm or something? Trust me, I'm just as confused as to why they look so..." He paused as he tried to find the words.

"Familiar, perhaps?" The gray haired man offered an answer.

"Yep, that sounds about right. I can't say I'm completely connected to them, but I'm definitely somehow related to them. Its really weird. What the hell are they?"

"You sound as if you have never heard of what a Grimm is, despite knowing their name." Ozpin raised a brow.

"Well, I sort of.. learned what they were when they attacked. I just.. felt it. Like the name came naturally."

"I see... well, we can discuss that curious thought at another date. Now then, mister Mainyu-"

"That's not my last name but go on.."

"Who exactly are you, and what circumstances brought you and this young woman here to a forest full of Grimm?"

The Avenger had to mull over that for a few moments, trying to think of an acceptable answer.

Fuck it, lying to humans was something he was great at. Time to get the yarn spinning.

"Well you see... I kinda don't remember."

"You.. don't remember." Ozpin repeated, pushing his glasses up a bit with a finger.

"Yeah, I remember being with Gudako here, I remember white walls and white hallways, and lots of other people.. and then I remember fighting something... big. REALLY big. Like, a woman I guess? Covered in black mud, monsters spewing out of the mud. I remember Gudako falling into it, and me and three other guys, my.. friends I guess, diving in after her, after that I woke up in the forest and everyone was knocked out, and she was like.. this. So I left the other three hidden in the forest where nothing would get them, and then I tried to find civilization to get Gudako healed up. Except, well..."

"You were assaulted by the Grimm." Ozpin finished. He had developed a very, VERY serious and, heh, grim expression the moment Angra Mainyu mentioned a woman and black mud.

"Yeah. As for the, you know.. whole transforming deal.. well, that's sort of.. just something I can do."

"You mean to tell me that entire transformation is your Semblance?"

"Erm, yeah.." Angra Mainyu chuckled nervously. 'What the fuck is a Semblance?'

"So, tell me then, what does that Semblance do?" Ozpin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his coffee mug somehow standing upright without an issue on the seat.

"Its basically a big old exaggerated case of payback. Any damage done to me in a certain time frame gets reflected back at double strength, and I heal most of the damage." Angra Mainyu drawled out. Explaining his Noble Phantasm wasn't a smart idea, but right now, giving some information was better than none.

"And it also temporarily transforms you into some sort of Beowolf-like creature. How interesting indeed."

"Well, if I knew why I took on that form, I'd tell ya." The Avenger shrugged.

"I see. That is very fascinating.." Ozpin mused as he leaned back and picked his coffee back up, sipping from it. "Tell me, how would you like for me to present an opportunity for you?"

"I get the feeling I'm gonna have to say yes to whatever it is since you kinda have me in a headlock with promising to heal Gudako, but go on."

"Rest assured, your answer will not change the fact that I will have my school's medics treat her injuries. They are.. very concerning." The headmaster's eyes briefly glanced at the angry red veins lining Gudako's skin. "You seem to be rather young, and you do not remember much aside from your friends and your relationship to this girl. Can your friends fight as well?"

"Oh yeah, they're all way stronger than me. I'm the weakest of the bunch." The Avenger grinned, his voice so devoid of any shame that Ozpin was almost startled.

"I see. Well then, I would like to offer the four of you scholarships at my academy."

"Yeah, been meaning to ask, but what kinda school do you work at exactly?"

"I am the headmaster of Beacon Academy, a school that teaches children to become Huntsmen and Huntresses to fight the forces of the Grimm and protect humanity." There was an iota of pride within Ozpin's voice as he spoke, the man completely missing the look of amusement from Angra Mainyu.

'Its just one facility that protects humanity to another.' The Avenger muttered mentally before grinning. "So, in exchange for Gudako getting healed, you want me and my buddies to attend a school that teaches us to kill monsters?"

"Essentially. I know that sounds rather sudden-"

"Fucking hell, sign me up!"

"-but I assure you-I beg your pardon?" Ozpin blinked.

"I'm in, and I'm sure the others would love to! I'm all up for it, so consider it a deal! Contract made, Geass established, that kinda stuff!" Angra Mainyu grinned.

Ozpin's eyes narrowed just the slightest bit as he hummed. "You are.. odd. Your Semblance is unlike anything I have seen, or heard of, and you learned what the Grimm were just from being in contact with them. The only thing that could have caused them to suddenly go into a frenzy and begin to... eat you with such voracity would be a massive influx of negative emotions, yet you seem rather joyful for someone who recently was being devoured alive. What are you, Angra Mainyu?"

"Just an Avenger, nothing else." The tattooed Servant grinned widely.

"And what are you avenging?"

"Well, considering I'm gonna be one of your students now, humanity I guess!"

The bullhead rumbled as it began to land on a large landing pad, a massive castle standing in front of it. As Ozpin began to disembark from the vehicle, he turned his head to look at the Servant from the corner of his eyes. There was an edge to his expression that wasn't there before, one that spoke of ages of experience.

"Tell me, do you think, despite having such an appearance, which I will not question for now, and having such a... Grimm-like Semblance, you would be willing to lay your life down for humanity's sake, despite the prejudice you may face?"

"Normally, nah. I hate humanity."

There was a tension in the air now, barely noticeable green glow starting to form around Ozpin.

"But Gudako loves humanity." Angra Mainyu continued, staring down at the girl in his arms. "She'd want me to fight for humans, even though humanity is just so, SO easily capable of doing horrible, shitty things. Humans will kill each other and there'll always be war, hate, and suffering as long as humans exist. But she believes in humanity, and me. So, I won't lay my life down for humanity's sake. I'll do it for her sake."

The glow receded as Ozpin sighed, his brow furrowed. "I suppose that will do."

The two men began their walk towards the school in silence, the tension not completely gone, but more bearable, as Ozpin tried to figure out the puzzling existence of Angra Mainyu.

It wasn't until five minutes into the walk that the Avenger froze.

"Oh fuck I left the three idiots back in the forest."

* * *

"After that, I handed Gudako to some medics that Ozpin called over and then bolted it back to the forest with the Bullhead. Told him to land a few kilometers or something from here, then I ran all the way here. Tonight's been full of late night jogging." Angra Mainyu finished his story as his fellow Servants stared at him with differing levels of shock and annoyance.

"Let me get this straight." Emiya slowly breathed in as he put his palms together, almost praying as he tried to reign in his irritation. "You brought us to a different world, without any obvious signs of Chaldea being here, used your Noble Phantasm out in the open close to where Master was seated, told lies of varying magnitudes to an apparent headmaster of an academy for monster hunters, and you somehow managed to get the four of us enrolled as students."

"Yep."

"I should shoot you, right here and now." Emiya snapped.

"C'mon, its not that bad!" The Avenger chuckled, grinning without any remorse.

"One bullet is all it would take for your weak body, right between the eyes, and two more in your spine just in case."

"You're overreacting a bit there mister 'Hero of Justice'."

"Oh no, the manner I am reacting in is PERFECTLY acceptable. We are NOT teenagers." Emiya snarled as he clenched his fists. "Our appearances may have been changed back into these.. childish forms but we are Servants. We are Heroic Spirits, and we are killers. We cannot play around studying in a school with children!"

"I agree with him." Cursed Arm sneers under his mask, drumming his fingers on his kneecap. "For a Hashashin to be put in such a position.. I am an Assassin, not a child. I am old beyond the years of all those children, you cannot expect me to play along with such a farce. Especially with how I look."

Lancelot was the only one who didn't speak up, a frown on his lips as he sighed and rubbed his temples. "Gentlemen.. as much as I hate to admit it..."

"Don't you dare say it." The former Counter Guardian almost growled.

"I agree with Angra Mainyu's idea. Hear me out."

"Yes, hear out the Berserker. When has that ever gone wrong?"

 **"LISTEN TO ME!"** The knight suddenly snarled out, his eyes flashing red as wispy smoke briefly burst from the folds of his armor, before he grit his teeth and shut his eyes, slamming a fist into the ground below.

The other three were definitely startled, Emiya having almost Traced his weapons and the Cursed Arm Hassan already holding a knife poised to throw.

"Look.. we don't have many options. We don't know where we are. When we are." Lancelot quietly stated as he let his eyes open, his pale blue orbs full of regret. "And frankly, we've been given a chance not many have. A chance to live once more as children."

"A chance we never wanted." Cursed Arm snapped.

"A chance that we don't have a choice but to take. This Headmaster Ozpin agreed to take in our Master and heal her. For her sake, we should honor the deal, however backhanded it may seem, and play along as students. It is what she would want."

Neither of the two dark skinned Servants besides Angra Mainyu had a reply for that. Its true, it would be what Gudako wanted.

"Until she awakens at the very least, we should play along. It isn't as if there is any harm in it. It would hurt nothing but our pride. I have none anymore. And neither of you two have much left." The Berserker narrowed his eyes, challenging the Assassin and Archer.

Emiya grit his teeth. He wanted to deny that, state that he still had his pride. But the smog filled world of lost swords inside him said otherwise.

Cursed Arm lowered his head pensively. He was an Assassin. He was a proud member of the Hashashin. He had pride. Pride in who he was and what he had accomplished.

But that pride meant little if he couldn't do something that was along the lines of his Master's wishes. And he knew the young girl would want him to take this chance.

"Very well." The ebony skinned Assassin relented, earning a shocked look from Emiya. "Make no mistake, I will not enjoy this, but for the Lord Magus, I will pretend to be a student."

"Goodie!" Angra Mainyu grinned before his eyes drifted to Emiya. "How about you? Gonna play high school kid once more? Or are you too scared you'll see something you threw away in the mirror?"

"Make no mistake, one way or another, I WILL make you pay for that one.." Emiya grit his teeth before sighing and standing up. "But fine. Its not like I have other ideas. And Master would just lecture me if I do otherwise."

"Great! Alright then, let's get moving, cuz I sort of stopped feeding power into this Reality Marble. Its gonna collapse soon."

"How soon?" Lancelot's brow furrowed.

"About five seconds?"

The string of curses that followed as the Servants scrambled to their feet to get out of the realm of darkness brought a wide smile to the Avenger's face, before he got slugged in the nose as soon as they exited the Reality Marble, courtesy of a very irritated Counter Guardian.

'Yep, this is gonna be an interesting time...' Angra Mainyu mused in his head as he nursed his broken nose while leading the other three towards where the Bullhead should be.

* * *

 _Alright, A.N time! Once again, a really long chapter, but don't expect this to be very common. The next four chapters are gonna be focusing on each of the four Servants from their perspective, still told in third person. It won't be in any specific order that will hint at the name of their team or who will lead it, though I will accept suggestions if you have any idea on how to make the letters S, H, L, and A into a color themed team name._

 _Now then, if anyone is wondering about what I've done to Angra Mainyu, I've essentially buffed him a little. Normally he's the weakest Servant, but he's also mentioned that he feeds off of sins. He's a lot like a Grimm in so many ways that I decided that he deserves a little buff to make the Grimm less of a threat to him._

 _I've never written a RWBY fanfic before so I'm not sure if I portrayed serious Ozpin properly or not. Hopefully I did, but if I didn't, eh, can't win 'em all. This IS mainly a side hobby after all._

 _On to FGO related news, I fucking rolled Ivan the Terrible a while ago and man, he's quickly becoming my strongest Rider unit. Just... what the hell. Lostbelt has some crazy designs, glad I rolled him (Even though I would have MUCH preferred getting Salieri), but oh well. I also managed to roll Atalanta Alter (Any time she screams when attacking, I just feel a stab through my heart. She sounds like she's in pain or distress.), and finally, Astolfo-chan!_

 _Granted, I wasn't expecting to get Astolfo, I was kinda just burning through those summon tickets and the little pink haired brat just popped up. Oh well, I needed another 4 Star+ Rider anyway._

 _I've had zero luck summoning any other Apocrypha Servants, which is a pain, but oh well. I'll always have Mordred, and with her new animation update, she's looking even more badass than before._

 _Now, I will address some minor things here._

 _Will there be other Servants? If there are any, there will be a good reason for why they're there, and there will be VERY few of them. Maybe even three at the most. I don't want this to turn into a Holy Grail War in Remnant, that's not what this fic is about._

 _Will there be pairings? Of course there will be, but I won't tell you what they are. I have plans. Some of them may surprise you._

 _Will Pyrrha still die? If I'm feeling particularly dickish, yes. Muahaha._

 _If there are any typos or anything, just remember, I don't have a beta. Also my spell check doesn't seem to work on my Microsoft word, which is concerning._

 _Anyhow, that's all from me for now. See you next time._

 _If anyone wants to add me on FGO, my friend code is 188,618,880, under the name of Jeto, which is the name of a Type/Moon OC I made a while ago that I'm still working on.  
_


	3. Skin-To-Bone

Chapter Three: Skin-To-Bone

* * *

 _The bright cerulean lights of the Chaldea summoning system began to die down, as an orange haired girl stood nervously in front of the large summoning array. This would be her first Servant. The first summoning of the second Master._

 _Behind her, standing with his arms crossed, was her... partner? Best friend? Rival? Either way, Ritsuka Fujimaru stood behind her, his teal eyes focused and narrowed._

 _"Remember Gudako. Heroic Spirits. Legends of the past. Treat them with respect."_

 _"Respect, got it." The ginger haired Magus nodded as she watched a tall, hunched figure begin to rise from the array._

 _A gleaming skull mask and ebony colored skin._

 _A ragged hood and torn cloak._

 _The Cursed Arm Hassan I' Sabbah, one of The Old Men of The Mountain._

 _"I am Servant Assassin, I have heard your call from the shadow-"_

 _"HOLY FUCK, he's got a skull mask Ritsu!"_

 _"God damn it Gudako!"_

 _Cursed Arm blinked under his mask as he watched the male teen in front of him slap the female upside the head before the two began to bicker._

 _"OW! What was that for Rit-suck-ass!?"_

 _"R-E-S-P-E-C-T! A Servant's introduction is important and you just interrupted it!"_

 _"Ya didn't have to hit me!"_

 _"You never learn otherwise!"_

 _The Assassin sighed in exasperation. 'Children.'_

 _After a few moments, the two ceased arguing as the orange haired girl stepped up to Cursed Arm, her hands on her hips._

 _"Anyway, I'm gonna be your Master from now on! Call me Gudako, third rate Magus, first rate badass!"_

 _"She's also a first rate idiot."_

 _"Shaddap Rits!"_

 _The black skinned Assassin shook his head slowly, chuckling deeply as he bowed._

 _"I am the Hassan I' Sabbah who bears the Cursed Arm of Shaytan. I look forward to working under your orders, Lord Magus."_

 _"Same here!" Gudako grinned widely._

 _There was a moment of silence for a few short minutes._

 _"So like, do you have a hidden blade under that cloak attached to your arms or..?"_

* * *

Out of all the beings that shared the name, Hassan I' Sabbah of the Cursed Arm was one of the oldest members of the clan. Of all the 'Old Men of The Mountain', he was one who was truly an old man.

And like most elderly folk, he was getting too old for this shit.

Everything went smoothly when they were brought to Beacon via the large flying vehicle known as a Bullhead. Almost immediately upon stepping on the aircraft, Hassan decided he hated it. It was loud, it rattled too much, and it was pale and grey. This vehicle would be terrible for stealth.

Still, it was a mode of transport, and a basic one as well. Perhaps they had stealthier options for other vehicles.

Arriving at Beacon was a quick affair as well. It was an impressive building for sure, more of a castle than an academy, but loathe as he would admit it, compared to the Camelot Singularity, Beacon wasn't that impressive. But it certainly felt friendlier.

The first thing they did upon arriving was check up on their Master. Hassan was glad to know that the Lord Magus was indeed getting emergency life support, but was perturbed when he saw the state she was in. Patches of the wrong skin tone marring her body and glowing red veins, never a good sign. It reminded him too much of the Matou girl from the Fifth Grail War.

Still, the annoyances had yet to come. They met the man Avenger called 'Ozpin'.

The man was shrewd and cunning, definitely experienced both as a teacher and most likely a fighter. There was age behind the headmaster's auburn eyes, a twinkle that spoke of experience beyond that of most men. The look in his eyes was full of wisdom, caution, and mercy. It almost reminded him of the Flower Magus; Merlin, however Ozpin's eyes held little to none of the Caster's mischievous nature.

This wasn't the part that irritated the Assassin though. No, the hard part was what Ozpin called 'The Interview'.

Essentially, the man had his... secretary? Assistant?

No matter, his 'colleague' had to interview each one of them.

Said colleague was named Glynda Goodwitch, a professor at this academy. She was a blonde woman with vibrant green eyes that shone behind spectacles. She dressed in a white blouse and a black skirt, and curiously, wore a black and purple cape that seemed to be designed to look ragged and frayed at the bottom.

She also sported a riding crop, which brought back unfortunately vivid memories of a pink haired Rider Servant with an aversion to cheese.

The interviews were relatively short, mainly asking each one of them what their personal preferences were on color, food (He made sure to mention he could not eat solids due to the shape and positioning of his mask, or anything containing pork due to his faith), and various other minor questions. Then there were the simple and short questions about their previous occupations, or where they learned to fight. Despite his vague answers, Goodwitch did not pursue too deeply into his answers. He was honestly expecting an interrogation, but it seemed as if Angra Mainyu had managed to stall that to another time.

Hassan lightly grimaced as he remembered the questioning of his mask however. As it turns out, wearing a skull on your face wasn't exactly socially acceptable. Which he knew already, but what he didn't know is that there are others who do it as well in this world.

* * *

 _"The White Fang?" Cursed Arm tilted his head, brow furrowing under his mask, shadows cast onto it, giving the appearance of the mask seemingly scowling._

 _"Yes, they are an organized group of… extremists, I suppose." Glynda nodded, her expression stern and grim. "They believe in enforcing the equal rights of Faunus-kind. They were peaceful at the start but when it became apparent that peaceful protests wouldn't change anything…"_

 _"They resorted to violence. Terrorism most likely, perhaps riots and other forms of crime?"_

 _The blonde professor raised a dainty brow as she hummed in confirmation. "An apt guess, for someone who appears to have never heard of them."_

 _"It is the logical route. When peace yields no results, violence is the only place people turn to." Hassan huffs, lightly tracing his fingers on his mask. "Regardless, I will not, and cannot remove this mask. It is a part of my… culture. It is a part of me."_

 _"Clearly in more ways than one. I can see that." Glynda's eyes flicked towards the ring shaped wires that looped through the mask and pierced under the ebony skinned youth's flesh and bone. "I cannot ask you to remove it, since it seems too deeply wired into your skull, which only raises questions on how it was implanted in the first place, but I will ask you to be cautious. Other people, students of your age especially, will not react very positively towards your appearance. They may become more accustomed to you once they find out you are neither from the White Fang, nor a Faunus… But even I as a teacher must admit that your appearance is rather unsettling."_

 _"I take no offense. I knew what I was getting into the moment I was born. This is who I am. None may take that away from me."_

 _Glynda nodded, and a comfortable silence descended upon the small room, before she began to speak again._

 _"Now, tell me how your Semblance works, then perhaps you can tell me a few things about your culture."_

* * *

And that was that. After twisting the truth around his arm being mutated by his Semblance, which he described to be a form of muscle enhancement that lets his limb lash out with far greater strength and speed by using Aura (The concept of which he was briefly taught by Angra Mainyu prior to even leaving the forest), he was freed from the interrogation and left to his own devices until each and every other member of his team was interviewed. Currently, it was Emiya Shirou who was in there, with Lancelot and Angra Mainyu sitting on the same bench as him in the waiting room.

Lancelot looked decidedly uncomfortable, the Berserker appearing rather antsy, fidgeting as he held onto his helmet that sat on his lap like it was some sort of comfort item. He had been acting off ever since Goodwitch first introduced herself in fact. Perhaps he was fighting the urge to ogle her, he was known as the most promiscuous knight of the Round Table after all.

In contrast, Angra Mainyu looked beyond relaxed, simply lounging in his seat, "man-spreading" with his head lolled back, eyes shut, seemingly asleep.

Those two weren't doing much, which was a little annoying. The knight was too anxious about something, and the Avenger was being lazy. Which of course meant that it fell upon Cursed Arm to do what he does best in unknown territory, especially when his comrades are busy doing other things.

Reconnaissance.

He poured over various magazines that the waiting room outside Goodwitch's office had, reading through each of them with great scrutiny. The things he learned were relatively useful. For one thing, weapons in this world all shared something in common, and that was the mechashift mechanic. Every weapon had more than one form, most of the time, and that second form was usually a gun.

Everything was a gun. Literally. Almost every single weapon that every Huntsman and student wielded had some sort of projectile function.

There was also something known as Dust, an ore that appeared to be this world's crystallized magical energy. Dust was apparently used for everything, from fuel to ammunition. And it never seemed to run out.

'Dust seems to be incredibly useful… perhaps we can find a use for it ourselves.' Cursed Arm thought to himself as he read through a magazine on Dust, both the uses and the stores that sell them.

One thing in particular that constantly popped up in the magazine was the Schnee Dust Company. A family that held control over the largest Dust mining corporation in Remnant. That needed some investigation. A family that rich had resources. Connections. Technology. All of which would be useful if they were going to be stuck in this world indefinitely.

The Assassin saw from the corner of his eye that Lancelot had picked up one of the magazines on weapons, and immediately felt perturbed when the knight's eyes seemed to light up at something on one of the pages.

Knowing the Berserker's preference for artillery, whatever he found was probably very large, very loud, and fired several hundred rounds per second.

* * *

"Well then, I'm sure you four must be exhausted after your ordeals." Headmaster Ozpin said, a small smile on his face. "Worry not, you can go for now and rest in one of the dormitory rooms we've provided. Since you have no Lien on you, and have lost a great deal of your memories, it wouldn't be wise to just set you up in a temporary residence in Vale without any available supervision, and since you will be studying here soon anyway, I've chosen one of the dorm rooms the new batch of first year students will be provided with as your residence."

The grey haired man adjust his perfectly round spectacles as he chuckled, staring at the four young men, each one of them displaying varying levels of impatience in their stances. "You are of course, free to travel to Vale whenever you so choose, and I have taken it upon myself to set you all up with a rudimentary bank account connected to your Scrolls and have given you all a small allowance. Think of it as a bonus for your… scholarship."

"You are quite charitable to people you have just met. And you put a lot of trust in us to simply allow us to travel to Vale without chaperones." Hassan tilts his mask down with his head, the angle making it look as if the mask was scowling.

"I put trust in you, because you put trust in me with allowing us to take care of your comatose friend." Ozpin's eyes almost twinkled with amusement as he tilted his head. "And I am quite curious to see how you four interesting children handle studying here. I will admit, amnesiacs are not a common sight, especially with such… selective memories, but I have full confidence you can all behave yourselves and perform splendidly as students."

The subtle message was clear to Cursed Arm. _'We are your friend's only chance at survival. We're not done probing you for answers. Don't do anything stupid.'_

"No problem Headmaster, we'll be great students!" Angra Mainyu grinned, moving to wrap his arms around Lancelot and Emiya's shoulders, only for the knight to sidle away from him and for the Counter Guardian to elbow him right in the face. "Agh, fuck!"

"Oh yes, do keep an eye on your language as well, this is a school after all." Ozpin chuckled, shaking his head. Children.

With that, the headmaster slowly walked away and down the corridor, vanishing around a corner as the new students made their way to their new room.

Cursed Arm sighed silently as they walked. This was a fresh kind of hell he had walked into. But if it meant that his Master would recover peacefully, he would endure any kind of torture.

"Yo, Lancelot, that Goodwitch chick was hot wasn't she?"

"She was… certainly incredibly attractive…"

…even if it did mean enduring being stuck with those two for the next few years.

* * *

Vale was certainly a pleasant looking city. For one thing, the buildings were all roughly the same size, allowing for him to travel quickly as he leapt across the rooftops, his form cloaked in his ragged hood and robes and the shadows of the night. He was completely unnoticeable, invisible as far as the normal eye could see, a mere flicker or blur of movement for anyone looking for him specifically. He was confident that nobody in the city was of the caliber required to even notice him.

Almost as soon as they arrived at their rooms, Hassan had left the school grounds to escape the resident Avenger and Berserker talking about women and their many attractive assets.

He didn't feel a single iota of guilt when he left Emiya Shirou alone with them. Maybe if he was lucky, the Archer would snap and knock the other two out from frustration.

Or better, shoot them. Not fatally of course. Angra Mainyu was his Master's lover, and the Berserker was actually sane for once so he deserved a bit more respect. Just a bullet in one of their kneecaps...

...his sense of humor has gotten quite dark. Gallows humor was never quite his strong point but constant exposure to various anti-heroes from all reaches of history has unfortunately left its mark on his humor.

Right now however, he didn't need to think about them, nor worry for his Master. He had to scout the city. He had to learn all he could about the kingdom he and his comrades were stuck in. Starting with the simplest method he knew.

Murder.

His Master wouldn't approve, but he was an Assassin, and his skillset was suited to learning and evolving through killing others. Humans specifically.

All thanks to the arm he stole from Shaytan. The Cursed Arm that strikes for the heart, replacing the real one with a false one. Or if he didn't feel like using it in such a manner, an arm that simply impaled the enemy and crushed their heart.

If he could just find a person, someone the city wouldn't notice going missing, he could devour their heart and learn more of Vale. He just needed an opportunity…

"Stop your whining you filthy animal!"

Ah, opportunity knocks on his door.

Landing on the edge of a roof, right above an alleyway, he peered down to find a curious sight. There was a man, unassuming in appearance, fairly bland with brown hair and eyes and pale skin, standing above a child. The child was at least ten years old, perhaps a little older, and female. She was also just as unassuming and ordinary looking, with black hair and big, blue eyes.

She also had a tail sticking out from under her dirty clothes. A Faunus then.

"I-I didn't do it! I-I never even walked into your store!" The girl whimpered, holding her cheek, a bruise growing on it as she scoots away from the man, deeper into the alleyway.

"Don't fucking lie to me you little shit, I saw you staring from outside, you animals are the only ones sneaky enough to steal like that! You fucking things eat raw meat too!?" The man growled, stepping closer as he cracks his knuckles. He had an apron on, smattered with dark stains. A butcher perhaps.

"I-I didn't steal anything, I don't even like meat b-besides fish!" The Faunus exclaimed, her eyes wide with panic and fear.

Cursed Arm sighed to himself as he slowly skulked down from the roof and into the shadows of the alleyway. A butcher wasn't exactly the best target to go after… he didn't seem that bright either.

"Prove it then, empty out your pockets!"

"I-I don't have any pockets, how could I hide anything?"

A leer grew on the man's face as he narrowed his eyes, hands clenched into fists as he steps closer. "Then take your clothes off and prove you're not hiding anything. You animals don't need clothes to survive."

Fear was practically palpable from the Faunus girl as she scooted back from the man, shivering violently.

"Well? You wanna prove your innocence don't… you…?" The butcher trailed off as he saw something in the alleyway, his expression turning into one of confusion… and fear.

The girl shook as she stared up at the man for a moment, noticing his change in expression, before she turned around and gasped.

In the darkness of the alleyway, there was a figure cloaked in darkness, a pale skull mask seemingly hovering in the shadows, staring right at them. At the butcher.

"W-White Fang..?" The butcher murmurs, taking a step back.

"Scum like you will not be missed by the world..." Cursed Arm muttered as he reached under his cloak and began to undo the wrappings around his arm.

The moment the butcher caught sight of the skull faced figure shifting, and something glowing a sinister orange becoming visible, he turned and began to ran.

"S-someone help, White Fa-"

 _ **"Delusional Heartbeat."**_

* * *

The girl was paralyzed, from fear, and awe. She heard the butcher mutter the words, but she could scarcely believe it.

A White Fang soldier? Here?

It couldn't be. That mask was that of a human skull, the White Fang wore Grimm skull masks, right?

When the butcher began to run and shout, she turned to look at him as he started his escape…

….and then he died.

A blur rushed past her, right above her head, and a long, glowing orange object of some sort impaled itself into the butcher's back, right where his heart would be.

The man died with a weak, gasping gurgle as the thing in his body slowly began to draw itself out from his back.

The girl gasped as she realized that it was an arm, and then felt sick as she saw what it was holding. The impossibly long, glowing orange arm, was clutching the man's still beating heart as it slowly pulled out.

Oddly enough, there was another heart still inside the man's gaping wound, though it was transparent, and dark.

The horrifying limb suddenly snapped back, the girl's head following the direction it went, eyes locked onto the black cloaked man… no, monster that it was connected to.

The armed contorted, bending so that the heart was right in front the masked figure's face.

 **"Zabaniya."**

A burst of blood erupted from the glowing fist as it crushed the butcher's heart, and the girl heard the man collapse to the ground behind her. She didn't dare turn around to confirm it. She was paralyzed with fear as she saw the skull faced figure lifting the crushed remains of the butchers heart to its face and…

…it started to eat it.

She couldn't help it. She threw up, right then and there.

How could anything be so… brutal and horrific? This wasn't someone from the White Fang, it was a monster, a Grimm!

Heaving, she stared at the mess she made, the scent of bile and blood filling the alleyway as she looked up.

The figure was gone.

But she could feel it standing right behind her now, and she could feel it leaning over her shoulder, that gleaming, grinning skull mask in the corner of her eyes.

"Children shouldn't be out this late. Head somewhere safe. You will not speak of this and I will ensure you get home safely. Understood?" The creature asked, its voice so deep that it sent tremors through her skull.

All she could do was nod, her eyes brimming with unshed tears from absolute terror.

Swallowing what might have been a second round of throwing up, she whispered out a question.

"W-what are you..?"

"...Shaytan."

And like that, she felt him vanish, his presence disappearing from the alleyway entirely.

She slowly turned around, and found that the butcher's corpse was missing as well, the only proof of his existence being the puddle of blood on the floor.

The poor Faunus girl shakily stood up, wobbling on her feet, before she began to sprint down the alleyway, her heart pounding in her ears.

She couldn't see the Devil anymore, but she knew he was watching.

She had never felt so terrified, so disgusted, yet somehow safe at the same time.

* * *

Cursed Arm silently darted across the rooftops as he followed after the girl.

It was certainly a risk, revealing himself to the girl. He should have killed her.

But while Hassan I' Sabbah thought it would be a smart idea to kill all the witnesses…

…Hanam thought that she deserved better.

Memories drifted through his mind, thinking of another life, one where his arm was lost and he returned to his people as a guide, and a parent.

That life was not this one. Though he may share memories from that Camelot Singularity, he wasn't the same Hassan from that village. He never stopped becoming an Old Man of The Mountain. He lived his life, and he died.

And now here he was, shadowing a small child to ensure she returns home safely, in another world, stuck with three other Servants and a comatose Master. What a turn of events.

A whistling sound caught his ears as he suddenly rolls in the air to the side, avoiding a spinning object.

It looked like a scythe of some sort, or a sickle, attached to what might have been a firearm, with a black ribbon connected to it. And it was coming right back for him.

He ducks down as it spins off, returning to its owner, a black and white figure landing on a rooftop, before the figure aims the sickle at him and fires off a few shots.

Ducking down into an alleyway, he began to hop from wall to wall, dodging bullets as the shots rang out, not a single one connecting. Each bullet seemed to make a bit of frost form wherever they hit, causing light amounts of ice to form around the bullet holes. His cloaked form almost glides through the alleyway, passing over the Faunus child, never even being spotted by her despite her head looking around as she hears gunshots while he turns down the alley and turns a corner, heading deeper into the almost labyrinthine system of narrow passages.

That whistling sound returns as he dives forward, the sickle from before slamming into the ground and piercing the concrete before its own lands on the ground with it, crouched low and ready for battle. Turning back towards his unexpected attacker, his eyes lock onto a black and white clad figure.

A girl, around his Master's age. Long black hair, fair skin, and almost unnaturally yellow eyes. She was wearing a monochrome ensemble of a sleeveless button up vest with coat tails, a crop top underneath it, white shorts and dark purple stockings. She had heeled boots on, which while seemingly impractical for use if she was going to follow him up onto these rooftops, he knew that if the Hassan of the Hundred Faces could keep her maneuverability despite wearing footwear like that, it would not be a stretch to say others couldn't.

Topping off the girl's outfit was a large black bow on her head.

The Assassin crouched low, his cloak shrouding his body as he stares at her weapons. The sickle he saw before was now in her hand, and it had shifted into a katana. Great.

In her other hand however, she held what looked like a rectangular slab of metal with a sharpened edge. He wasn't quite sure what it was from a first glance, but it was being held like a blade, and it was sharp, so it was a sword. A machete even. But from what he'd read, weapons can have all sorts of hidden functions so for all he knows, that thing was a gun as well.

A breeze running through the alleyway ruffled his cloak as he shifted his stance, sliding his left hand back to pull out a few daggers. The girl must have noticed since her eyes narrowed and she lifted her katana up, pointing what must have been the muzzle of the firearm inside it at him.

"Don't move, and I won't shoot. This doesn't have to end in bloodshed." She spoke with a calm, almost detached tone. Cursed Arm watched her warily, seeing a glint in her eye. She was young, but she's got experience in combat… impressive for a child.

"Indeed it doesn't. But you struck first, and now that you have seen me, I cannot allow you to simply leave." The Assassin chuckled out, crouching low. He could use more information.. The butcher was a simple civilian, but this girl clearly wasn't. His arm flexed in the confines of the hastily done wrappings, the material starting to loosen. "I am afraid I will have to silence you."

"You can try." The girl muttered as she pulled the trigger.

A shot rang out as a bullet came hurtling straight towards him, before missing completely as he crouches even lower, twisting his body down, his back bending to an almost sickening degree that would snap an ordinary person's spine, the mere sight of his contortion making the girl flinch and grimace.

The Assassin's left arm swipes out from under the ragged cloth covering him, a trio of daggers soaring to the girl. Her eyes narrow as she fires off another shot, the bullet deflecting the first dagger before she bats away the other two with her larger blade, the machete. Crouching low for a moment, she bursts into action, running straight towards him, her katana shifting back into a sickle as she prepares to hurl it.

"You are within my range now… **_Delusional Heartbeat!_** " Hassan crows out, the side of his cloak swelling before his bright, glowing arm bursts free from its confines and shoots straight at the shocked girl, her arms coming up in a futile attempt to block. **_"ZABANIYA!"_**

The cursed hand of Shaytan bypasses her guard, slipping between her arms and piercing right through her chest, a startled gasp escaping her lungs…

…before her body turns into ice.

"What!?" Hassan exclaims, his eyes widening under his mask. THAT has never happened before.

The girl's body transformed completely into ice, freezing his arm in place as the real one suddenly blurs into existence, above his limb, her blades held together as she swings down with a battle cry.

Her blades never find their target as his arm pulls back violently, shattering the frozen body double and returning to his side, his long, glowing fingers curling into a fist angrily as he keeps his Noble Phantasm held close.

"How did you do that?" Hassan asks, his voice now taking on a menacing edge, mirth gone from his tone as the girl straightens up and aims her blade at him. He couldn't risk attempting Zabaniya again. Not if she had a way to dodge it like that. Using his Noble Phantasm twice within less than an hour already caused a noticeable drain to his reserves.

"My Semblance. Not that telling you that will help you. I'm assuming your Semblance is something that lets your arm stretch like that." The girl narrows her eyes, glancing at the menacing and orange colored limb. "It's unnatural, especially with your mask. You're not White Fang."

"No, I am not…. Though you would know what passes for a White Fang soldier, considering you must be a Faunus." Hassan counters, his declaration making the girl's eyes widen.

"How did you-"

"Faunus are supposed to have perfect nightvision, and there isn't a single source of light in this alleyway besides the faint light of the moon… yet you followed my movements perfectly in the darkness. Granted, it was only an assumption, but something about you is unnaturally sharp for a human. I am impressed you were even able to follow me at all." Cursed Arm stands up straighter, his much taller body looming as his demonic limb stretches to the side, his fingers touching the wall and digging into it as he drags them across the concrete, carving long lines as he slowly walks towards the girl.

"I'm not an ordinary person." The girl declares as she takes a stance, her gunblade aimed at him as her machete is raised up in case she needs to bat away more projectiles. "Why were you following that girl?"

"I was ensuring she returned home safely."

"After she saw you kill a someone?"

Hassan stills as his fingers suddenly scratch across the wall and gouge out a few chunks of it before he holds his arm close, fingers curling. "So you saw it too."

"I saw the blood. I just followed the trail. I won't let a murderer like you get away. If you turn yourself in, this won't have to end violently." The teenager declares. And she sounded honest at least.

Cursed Arm sighed inwardly. Still a child, if one played it smart, they wouldn't have revealed 'exactly' what they saw but instead put up a facade of having seen everything. Still... She didn't see him use his actual Noble Phantasm, though she saw the puddle of blood he left behind. He disposed of the body easily, quickly dumping it in one of the ventilation shafts of a nearby building, that was going to smell horrible for a while... He didn't 'have' to kill her at least…

However…

"You seem ready to call me a murderer… but your attacks were all aiming at my head. What do you call someone who murders a murderer? A hero of justice?" Hassan states bluntly, tilting his head up, his mask's expression mirroring one of amusement at the girl's sudden stiff posture. "And I know that look in your eyes. I have seen it in countless men and women… you have seen your fair share of bloodshed… some of it by your own hands… were they human? Did you kill humans for the White Fang perhaps?"

A shot rang out and missed his head by inches as he tilts his mask down. Seems he struck a nerve. The girl's calm look was replaced with one of anger. "Stop talking. I'm not a murderer-"

"-anymore, is how you wish to say it, no?" Cursed Arm chuckles. "Ah, but that is all unimportant. It isn't as if I have any way to prove that. But while you can try to take me in, dead or alive, I will most certainly kill you in the end… however…"

The Assassin pulls his demonic arm under his cloak. "A thought occurred. You are obviously a teenager… and you are quite skilled in combat… and you happen to be in Vale as well. Are you enrolled in Beacon Academy?"

A twitch of the brow, and the.. bow. Hmm. Interesting. "Why is that important?"

"If you are, then I obviously cannot kill you.. and you cannot kill me. After all, if one of us disappeared before orientation even started, it would seem suspicious, wouldn't it?"

"You're a student? But you-" The girl's eyes widen as she starts to study him closer, her eyes running across his form, now trying to deduce his age.

"I am younger than you think." Hassan stated.

It was a lie, but only technically. His body was younger. His soul, was not.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" The girl's finger was on the trigger as Hassan begins to wrap up his accursed arm, binding it once more. "For all I know, you're just trying to trick me so you can escape… or stab me in the back."

"I could show you my Scroll, if that helps. I am sure my student details are on that… 'somewhere'. I haven't had the time to actually use it properly, technology eludes me at times."

That admission makes her falter as her arm starts to lower. "That doesn't change the fact that you killed someone."

"I killed someone who was going to hurt a poor young Faunus child. He was a butcher, he had no family, and he was once convicted for a number of crimes related to children. The only reason he wasn't behind bars was because the proof was few and far in between, and the alleged victims were all Faunus." Hassan scoffs as he finishes binding his arm. "As far as I am concerned, I was doing your kind a favor. She may be scarred for life, but she will live and grow stronger.. as orphans do when they live in poverty."

The girl's brow was furrowed as different thoughts flicker behind her eyes, before she lowers her weapon and sheaths it in her machete. Huh, so that's what it was for.

"Alright… if you're telling the truth then I'm expecting to see you in a few days at orientation. I'll let it slide once but at Beacon, I'm going to keep an eye on you."

"Do as you will." Cursed Arm shakes his head. As if anyone could monitor an Assassin Servant, especially one of the Hashashin. "As a show of good faith, I will introduce myself. My name is Hassan I' Sabbah."

"Blake.. Belladonna." The girl looks warily at her fellow student-to-be. "If you want to show good faith, why don't you just take off that mask?"

"It is wired into my skull, as is my culture. Perhaps when the semester begins, I could elaborate more on that, but so far, Professor Goodwitch has cleared me for keeping it on."

"Wired into your..?" Blake blinks, her eyes widening with surprise before she grimaces. "That.. doesn't sound comfortable."

"It is what it is. Now then, I must return to my accommodation at Beacon. Due to circumstances involving me and my comrades' enrollment, we have to stay at the dorms there due to a lack of funds. You 'could' try to follow me there, if you are confident you can sneak into Beacon Academy."

Despite the mask covering his face, thereby hiding any and all expressions he could make, the girl could clearly hear the amusement in his voice as he said that, judging by how her eyes narrowed and a huff escaped her lips. "I'll pass, thanks. Get out of here. I hope I don't find you at the other end of a trail of blood again."

 _'Meddle again and you'll find yourself being the source of one, Belladonna.'_ The Assassin mutters mentally before he leaps up to one of the walls and kicks off it, hopping up to the rooftops before he begins his leaping rush back to the Bullhead station.

As he leaps from roof to roof, the wind making his ragged and torn cloak flutter and billow in the air, he hums to himself. "Blake Belladonna… a good sense of honor, and impressive skills for someone her age… she would have made a fine Hashashin… perhaps."

Her morals aside, she was able to sneak up on him, her weapon being the only thing that alerted him to her presence. His senses were dulled with this younger body perhaps, but he was still an Assassin.

One thing was for sure. On the off chance he was stuck in this world forever…

…she would be at the top of the list of viable recruits if he had to revive the Hashashin somehow.

Now if only he had any idea what passed for Religion in this world... The Butcher's memories certainly weren't giving him any details on that. He was apparently an atheist.

Heathen.

* * *

 _Whew, sorry for the late chapter, a lot of shit's been happening. Anyway, here's the first of the four chapter POV swaps before we get to the actual first day of Beacon Academy!_

 _The reason for these four chapters is to let me practice writing the four different Servants, and to flesh them out more. Honestly, I hope I nailed Cursed Arm right._

 _And hey, first appearance of one of team RWBY's members! Its obviously Blake cuz she's the only one who'd run into an Assassin lurking in the dark randomly, with the possible exception of Yang happening upon one lurking in a seedy bar.  
_

 _I hope you liked the scene of Cursed Arm's Zabaniya utterly failing because of her lucky application of her Semblance. I had thought about it for a while, and when you think about it, it makes sense, right? Her Shadow should let her dodge being impaled by the arm of Shaytan, even narrowly._

 _I haven't done fight scenes in a long time so this one was kinda hard to write. Again, if you guys notice anything off, its cuz I'm out of practice and have little experience with writing this particular character. I just hope some people enjoyed it, cuz if even just one person enjoys what I wrote, that's good enough for me._

 _In FGO news, I've got quite a few new Servants within the past few months. At the paid gacha event we last had, I rolled in the Extra Servant slot, hoping to bag myself Antonio Salieri, who was being rated up. I didn't care what 5 Star Servant I got, I just wanted Salieri._

 _And then as the ten roll got going, I pulled him!_

 _And then another._

 _And then another._

 _And by the end of the entire ten roll, I lucked out with FOUR Salieri's in a row._

 _Oh, and Jeanne._

 _So that was a highlight!_

 _And then over the next few months after that, I scored other Servants. I got myself the Queen of Sheba (two of her, NP2 baby!), two Saber Diarmuids, Penthesilea (from a fucking summon ticket no less), and everyone's favorite banana Oni, Ibaraki Douji._

 _I also managed to somehow roll Altera, and she wasn't even being rated up, I just managed to randomly get her in a throwaway ten roll. Not that I'm complaining, I love Altera, purely because of my Huke bias.  
_

 _There was also the Halloween event rerun, so I got myself a Mecha Eli, though I sadly didn't get enough time to do the missions to get any materials to ascend her past her first stage (Its freaking Nobunaga all over again damn it), and I can't join the new Halloween event with the new 4 Star Shuten since I haven't gotten to the Lostbelt arc yet (Babylon is eating me alive currently, and so is Monster Hunter World and other real life obligations), so yeahhhhhhh..._

 _Anyway, the next chapter's title is gonna be 'Steel to Rust'. Three guesses who is gonna be the focus for that chapter._

 _Anyway, again, hope you all enjoyed. If you notice any grammatical errors or typos, sorry about that. Would it help if I said I don't have a beat? Hehe._


	4. Steel-To-Rust

Chapter Four: Steel To Rust

* * *

 _The beast grieved._

 _It wallowed in anguish and sorrow._

 _How long has it been? Since that second confrontation?_

 _To be summoned and have to fight his King once again… ahh, fate is a cruel mistress._

 _But he deserved it. He deserved every bit of animosity he got._

 _But the despair and grief on her face when she saw him, the real him, buried under the armor and screams…_

 _It pained him so._

 _"Do not look at me with such eyes, my King… I deserve none of your pity."_

 _Yes, he would have said that… but under Madness, all he could do was say her name. The name that haunts him, the name that claws at the edges of his mind, forever reminding him of his folly, of his regret…_

 _The name… was…._

* * *

 _A bright flash of light. A contract being sealed. He felt a connection to something._

 _There was a girl.. with bright orange hair._

 _And next to her was…_

 _…was…_

 ** _"….A…r….t…hu…r…"_** _The beast rumbled tilting its head up._

 _"M-Master, the new Servant… recognizes me…. Is that..?" A blonde girl. Her long, golden hair, done up with a black bow. Her emerald eyes, vibrant and youthful. Her armor, lily white._

 _She looked different. She was younger. More innocent… but it was still…_

 ** _"Ar…thur….."_** _The beast growled, its body shaking as armor rattled, a bright red light shining from the slit of its helm as the shadows cloaking its body began to smolder and flare._

 _"U-uh oh, I-I think I just summoned-" The orange haired girl started to speak…_

 _Before the beast howled._

 ** _"AAAAAAARRRRTHUUUUUUUUUUURRRR!"_**

 _The mad dog lunged towards its King, who was paralyzed with shock._

 _Suddenly, something stamped down on the berserk Servant, pinning it to the ground as it writhed and howled, clawing at the floor. It twisted its head around to see what stopped it._

 _"Hmph. Yet another mad Servant."_

 _A giant of a being, a creature of ice and muscle, with a voice like the rumble of thunder. Massive tusks that cackled with lightning grew from over its shoulders, a thick fur collared cape of the deepest blue dangling from its massive frame as it stared down with a gaping hole for a face, one that shone with pure lightning crackling inside. In one of its hands, a twisted golden staff, which was currently raised up._

 _"Phew, thanks Ivan! I was almost going to use a Command Seal…" The orange haired girl wiped sweat off her brow as she walked closer to the downed Berserker. "Hey, calm down okay? Everything is gonna be fine! I'm Gudako, your new Master?"_

 _The mad dog growled, armor shuddering as it struggled to get up, before the sharp end of a golden staff pierced through its shoulder, and a powerful shock of electricity went through its body._

 ** _"GRAAAAAAAHHHHH!"_** _The insane Servant howls out, body violently shaking before it suddenly slumps, its head slamming against the floor as it goes limp._

 _"H-hey, Ivan, you didn't need to shock him!"_

 _"I beg to differ, child. Dogs will not obey unless you give them incentive. In this case, pain. Your newest Saber's presence is causing this Berserker to become unstable. It is best to incapacitate it before it starts a rampage."_

 _"He's not a dog, he's a person! We could've just asked her to walk out or something!" The girl huffed, crossing her arms and glaring up at the humongous Rider._

 _"I-I'm sorry, I will just step out-" The lily armored Saber stammers before her Master points at her._

 _"No, you stay right there you little cinnamon bun, we're still going for lunch, then a tour!" The ginger haired human declares before she kneels down in front of the black armored Servant. "Look, be good okay? You're gonna be fine. Just follow my lead, alright? You don't need to worry anymore….. Christ, Rits is gonna freak out…"_

 _The Berserker didn't move as it slowly felt its vision darkening._

 ** _"…..Ar…thur….."_**

* * *

"We have a problem."

Those were the first things that Lancelot heard as he woke up from his sleep.

It was the morning after their arrival at Beacon. They were less than a week away from the start of orientation. And already, it seemed that Cursed Arm had some dire news.

"Based on certain discoveries I made last night, I have determined that we may need to reevaluate the threat level of Huntsmen and Huntresses, as well as our conditions." The Assassin said as he stood in the center of their room. There were four beds in each corner of the room, each one with their own bedside drawer, desk, and wardrobe.

Not a single one of those pieces of furniture contained anything.

"Reevaluate? Are they stronger than we anticipated?" Emiya raised a brow as he sat at his own desk. He had a small notebook opened up on it, a ballpoint pen in his hand.

"In a way. It is about the nature of a Semblance in general. I encountered a Huntress in training on my way back last night, as you recall."

"Yes, and I still question why you didn't just kill her." Emiya's eyes narrowed just a little.

"She was a future student, there would have been an investigation. I also did not feel the need to end her life. She could be a valuable future comrade, or asset." Cursed Arm dipped his head a little. "In any case, whatever her Semblance was, it allowed her to completely dodge my Zabaniya."

"You let her see your Noble Phantasm and live too?" The pen between Emiya's fingers started to crack a little.

"We agreed that we would disguise our Noble Phantasms as our Semblances, so it was not as dire a situation as you might think. Regardless, I read more on the subject while most of you slept and have come to the realization that there are almost no rules regarding these Semblances. They are mirrors of the soul, and depending on the person, they can vary in what they do. Meaning, as far as I can tell, we could encounter Semblances that may hinder the use of our Noble Phantasms, or render them useless, if we are not careful."

That declaration brought silence to the room. Lancelot turned his head to look at the one Servant in the room who was silent, for once.

Angra Mainyu was laying on his bed, arms crossed behind his head. He looked relaxed, but he was wide awake, his eyes focused on Cursed Arm. His expression seemed… odd, but Lancelot didn't exactly know him well enough to figure out what it meant.

"That is concerning, but nothing we need to worry about just yet. We're blending in with children so their Semblances will be mostly undeveloped, or undiscovered. Just because they have their Auras unlocked doesn't mean they have Semblances. Yet." Emiya sighed, before he started to write in the notebook.

"That is true. The other bit of business I wish to bring up is our bodies. It seems Angra Mainyu has altered us in more ways than we had originally thought." The Assassin huffs, before holding up his Scroll. "As you can see, like all Scrolls, there is a gauge for our Aura here. Notice that mine is full… and since all our Scrolls are connected and registered as a 'Temporary Team', we can see each other's Auras since we are close enough. All of ours are full… except for Angra Mainyu's."

All eyes were on the Avenger, who grimaced a little.

"Yeah, I…. well, I did sort of have to use some of the human templates in this world to fix your bodies.. so.. you guys kind of have Aura now… but it seems to think I don't have an Aura, which, well, I don't. Cuz apparently, the closest thing I am to something in this world is a Grimm… which don't have souls by the way!"

"That isn't all." Cursed Arm growled a little. "He has changed us significantly enough that we do not technically qualify as Servants anymore. To put it bluntly… we are weaker as well as younger. For all intents and purposes, we are all completely human. Enhanced humans, but still human. Have any of you attempted to enter your spiritual forms? In fact, have any of you realized how odd it is that you all SLEPT last night when we do not need rest?"

Silence greeted him, before Emiya and Lancelot furrowed their brows, their eyes widening. Seeing this, Cursed Arm nodded.

"There you have it. We are now enhanced humans with access to Noble Phantasms. Our reserves of mana are smaller, we are less durable, though that may be arguable with this new 'Aura' we have, and to top it all of… we can probably age and die as other humans do as well."

The pen in Emiya's hands snapped in half, ink splattering all over his notebook as he clenched his fist and turned to look at Angra Mainyu.

"What the fuck did you do to us?"

"Saved you, asshole! Look, it all looks bad, but we're all used to that! I could've just let you die or vanish like the others!" The Avenger held his hands up in a placating gesture as he sat up. "Really, its not that big of a deal."

Silence, once more, except this time it was thick with tension as the other three servants stare at Angra Mainyu with shock.

"What others!?" The Archer was standing up now, his chair falling back before Cursed Arm caught it and set it down properly.

"What, you thought you three idiots were the only Servants besides me to jump in after our Master? Or fuck, even the only ones who got swallowed up at that time by Tiamat?" Angra Mainyu huffed. He looked irritated, which was an odd sight considering he was usually nonplussed by everything. "Well, guess what, you weren't, but I couldn't reach the others that fell in. Not really. I think I might have brought them here with us, but they weren't in my Reality Marble so they're probably either dead, or they just bounced off the Reality Marble and went straight into this world without getting healed. So again, probably dead.. or worse. If they're alive, they could be anywhere… or any time as well."

"You're telling me that there is a chance that there are dead, injured, or worse, corrupted Servants in this world with us, and you have no idea where or how many there are? And we are stuck in bodies that are probably not strong enough to even fight them on even ground?" Emiya's brow was twitching violently as his fingers flexed.

"Probably, yep."

As soon as that answer left the Avenger's mouth, a fist slammed into his face.

Lancelot sighed as a fight began, his head turning to look at the resident Assassin, who was now seated on his own bed, shaking his head and sighing.

Silently, Lancelot stood up and walked to the door, never turning back once as he opens it up, and leaves the room quietly.

He needed to get some fresh air.

* * *

It was midday by the time he found himself in Vale.

Walking around the campus grounds was a little refreshing, but the feeling became stale when he realized he could still feel and hear his 'friends' arguing. So he went further, and further, and eventually found himself riding a Bullhead down to Vale.

The looks he got for his appearance were disconcerting, a mix between awe and anxiety. He decided to wear his helm for maximum protection, so when he walked down the streets of Vale, people were treated to the sight of a tall, armored knight strutting around menacingly.

He was at a mental crossroads. This city was unlike any other he had ever seen before and he had no idea where to go.

The sight of a few attractive young women pointing and staring at him brought up some old memories and desires, but they were quenched by his state of emotion and mind.

It was odd. To feel the urge to charm and flirt with women, as he always did before he met Guinevere, dampened by his toiling, aching regret. It was almost agonizing.

It reminded him of his interview the previous night…

* * *

 _"So, mister… Lancelot, was it?"_

 _"Yes ma'am."_

 _"Please, there is no need to be nervous. This is a standard interview after all." Professor Goodwitch smiled briefly before her expression returned to being studious and calm as she held up a clipboard._

 _She looked too much like Arthur. Brilliant blonde hair in a bun and vibrant green eyes…_

 _He saw an image of a different Arthur, older, prouder, and unhindered by the effects of Avalon. A lion amongst men._

 _Lancelot shook himself out of that thought as he flinched and put a hand against his head. The aching guilt, it was still there, still reminding him of his mistakes._

 _"Is something wrong? Do you have a headache?" Goodwitch frowned as she stared at the Berserker._

 _"N-no, it is fine, madam.. I just.. your face reminds me of an old friend… that I lost…"_

 _A look of understanding crossed the teacher's face as she set down her clipboard. "I understand… loss is a hard thing to come to terms with, and it haunts us. As a Huntress, I too know of loss… and as a future Huntsman, you will most likely know of more. From bandits, to Grimm, there are a lot of dangers in this world, and the life of a Huntsman is full of danger. I wonder, almost every day, about students who have graduated, and are fighting out there in the world, doing missions, and I wonder if what I have taught them in combat class will keep them alive."_

 _Glynda Goodwitch sighed as she adjusted her glasses. "There have been times when I would hear news of former students perishing in action… and I wonder if it was because I did not teach them well enough. I strive to make sure my students learn as best as they can, but sometimes, it is not enough to prepare them for what is really out there. There are things besides Grimm out there that are more dangerous…"_

 _'She means well… but she would not know of how it feels to betray someone who trusted you with all their heart….' Lancelot muses mentally, a dark expression on his face before he does his best to school his features. "I… thank you for your words, Professor."_

 _"Anytime. If you ever need counselling on these matters, ask any teacher here. We have all dealt with loss. My door is always open for those in need." The blonde woman smiles a little. Her smile falters when she notices an odd expression form on Lancelot's face as he stares at her. "Is… something the matter?"_

 _"N-nothing, professor.. I was just.. Entranced by your beautiful smile for a moment there."_

 _"O-oh."_

* * *

"Old habits die hard…" Lancelot murmurs to himself as he walks down the sidewalk, people moving out of his way like the Red Sea parting for Moses. Thankfully, the compliment went over well, evidenced by when the professor blushed and stammered a little. It took her a full minute to recover before she continued the interview.

He paused in his steps when he realized that while lost in his thoughts and mindlessly walking around, several hours had passed. It was almost dusk.

"I am fortunate I did not walk into oncoming traffic…" He mutters before he looks around. He still had time to kill… but the looks he was getting were starting to put him on edge. He was meant to blend in, if people kept staring at him then that would defeat the purpose… did Huntsmen not wear full suits of armor like he did?

His eyes settled on a store right down the street. It appeared to be a clothing shop.

….he DID have that allowance that Ozpin gave him…

Nodding to himself, he starts to march towards the store like a man on a mission.

It was time to find some clothes.

* * *

It would occur to Lancelot that modern clothing, in this world at least, was rather… eclectic.

Mishmashes of varying cultures mixing into clothing lines, from the simplest of shirts and jeans, to ornate robes, to whole suits with embroidered coat tails. There were even custom lines of clothing for those with enough money to pay for them and time to wait.

There were far too many clothes to choose from, especially since he only planned on wearing these for the night to attract far less attention (the cute store clerk seemed to almost suffer cardiac arrest upon seeing him, poor woman) than he would if he just wore his full armor.

In the end, he went with something simple and clean. A simple black business suit. With an accompanying dark purple tie.

It was simple, it was formal, and if he did say so himself, it suited him quite well.

The effects were noticed by him immediately as he paid for the clothes (the clerk being too distracted by his features it seemed to even question where his armor vanished off to) and left the store.

The anxious eyes were gone, replaced by indifference, and for a lot of the women… interest.

He sighed silently as he began to walk, adjusting his tie. It seems out of his armor, his Charisma was still very much in effect. And yet the desire to act upon any of his base impulses felt muted. What was the point of having Charisma like this if he didn't even feel the motivation to make use of it?

Still… it did make his currently beaten and brutalized ego swell just a bit, knowing that even now, he could evoke such reactions from the fairer sex.

* * *

At some point, the Berserker found himself striding into a pub. A rather large one too, it seemed that some sort of party was already in motion inside.

He didn't pay attention to the name, nor did he even give the black suited and red spectacled guards out front any mind. As soon as he walked up, they simply let him through, almost unable to meet his gaze.

Entering the pub itself, he found a large smattering of people dancing and cheering on an almost seizure inducing dancefloor, lights flashing and odd music that had a lot of… beats and muffled vocals playing, the sounds reverberating through his body.

Modern music is… very strange.

It doesn't take long for him to find which direction was the bar counter, all he had to do was look out for shelves stacked with alcohol.

Walking towards it, he seats himself down on one of the bar stools, his short purple hair bobbing a little as he turns to look at the bartender. "I would like… any ale you have I suppose. Just a glass of it."

"A little young to be drinkin', aren't ya?"

Lancelot turns to find an older man, with short black hair and a beard and mustache, wearing a vest over a white dress shirt and matching black pants. He looked gruff, brutish… but smart. Or at least, knowledgeable.

"I find that the right age to drink often happens to coincide with the right age to hunt… and it has been a tiring week so I honestly couldn't care less… " The knight chuckled a little as he rests his chin on the back of his interlaced fingers, propping his elbows up on the counter.

"I'll say. You look like shit, kid. Bags under your eyes and everything."

Bags?

It occurred to Lancelot then that he hadn't gotten the chance to even get a look at himself in the mirror. All he knew was that his hair was shorter, as it was in the glory days of being a knight of the r-

His brow twitched and his fingers tensed for a moment, almost sinking into those memories. No. None of that. Not now. Not around so many people.

"It has been… testing, to say the least." He mutters as his drink gets served up. Slowly, he reaches out for it, eager to see if this world's alcohol could work any miracles to distract him from his thoughts.

"Hey there, I'll take a strawberry sunrise! Oh, and one of those little umbrellas."

His fingers barely touch the glass before he notices a newcomer, right between him and the older man.

At first, he thought he was staring at some sort of curling mass of yellow fire. It took him a moment to adjust his eyes to realize that he was staring at long, blond hair.

The owner of said head of hair was a young woman, roughly the same age as his Master, with vibrant lilac eyes and a wide, confident grin. She was wearing a… provocative top, to say the least, in the form of a tan jacket that showed her midriff, with a yellow crop top underneath. Her clothes immediately drew his attention to her sizeable chest, before his eyes flitted back up to her face.

He couldn't tell what she was wearing on her lower body since his eyes didn't drift further down than her torso, but she seemed very casually dressed, all things considered. At the very least, she wasn't dressed for this sort of pub.

"Damn kids are drinking way too young these days…" The bearded man huffs, rolling his eyes.

"Aw c'mon, it's not like I asked for a whole bottle or anything!" The blonde girl grins, before turning to look at Lancelot, her eyes roaming over his form for a moment before her grin becomes a smirk. "Hey there, tall, dark and handsome."

"Hello, tall, blonde and beautiful." The reply slipped out of Lancelot's mouth before he had a chance to stop himself. He grimaces for a moment before he shakes his head. "Apologies fair Miss, I am not sure what came over me. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Wow, someone's taken some of those etiquette lessons. 'Fair Miss'? I'm anything but fair but thanks! You talk like one of those old knights from kids' books, or like one of those try-hard, fedora tipping 'gentlemen' that a lot of guys are trying to be these days." The girl laughs, leaning against the counter with one arm. "Name's Yang. Yang Xiao Long."

"Lancelot... Du Loc." He returns the introduction, fingers finally wrapping around his glass as he lifts it up to his lips.

"I guess you probably use a spear or something then?"

The knight blinks in confusion for a moment. "A... spear? No, I use a sword. A broadsword."

A strange query for her to make, he thought as he slowly sipped from his glass of ale. It didn't taste that good, almost watered down-

"Aw, really? I thought you 'Lance-A-Lot'?"

The Berserker had to struggle not to spray the alcohol from his mouth as he heard the… horrible, horrible joke come from Yang's mouth, his fist thumping at his own chest as he felt the drink go down the wrong pipe for a moment, making him cough. That reaction was exactly what she was looking for apparently, as she started burst out into laughter, one hand around her stomach.

"That pun… physically hurt me." Lancelot mutters as soon as he recovered from his coughing fit, clearing his throat.

"You mad?" The blonde bombshell grinned cheekily.

"No, just disappointed."

"You looked a little down so I thought a good joke would help cheer you up. Being sad in a bar is kinda depressing."

"It is…" He sighs as she gets her drink and starts to sip from it. It was some odd pinkish red colored drink in a martini glass.

No umbrella though, which seemed to make her pout a little before she sipped from it anyway.

"So, what's your story, big guy? You look like you're about my age, but your hands look like the hands of a working man, all calloused and stuff, so you're probably going to Beacon too, right? What brings you here then, looking all gloom and doom?"

"An… odd observation and assumption but I am, yes… I just... needed time to myself. All things considered, I had to come to terms with… some unfortunate news, recently."

"Anything you can share?" She glances at him, before shrugging when she receives a shake of the head. "Eh, no problem. Everyone's got a few secrets. Talking about it might help though, you know?"

That got Lancelot thinking a little. Perhaps.. perhaps talking about it, even just an abridged version of his problem, might help.

"Well.. I do not wish to bother you with my issues and burdens-"

"Psssssh." Yang waves him off as she turns in her seat to face him with a grin. "We're just a pair of strangers who might meet again in school! Then we're gonna get some more drinks, I'll do what I needed to do here, go our separate ways and never bring this stuff up again! Simple, right? Plus, I'm kinda curious."

Lancelot stares at her for a moment with a small amount of trepidation, before he sighs and looks at the bartender.

"Give me the bottle. I might need it."

* * *

"I am not sure I belong in this place." Lancelot murmurs. He was five glasses in, and the alcohol still wasn't doing anything for him. At some point, the bartender just took the empty bottle of ale away and replaced it with something that tasted better, but still wasn't any stronger. "I have made so many mistakes… I feel I don't deserve any of this good fortune."

"Yeah, everyone makes mistakes… but we gotta learn from them, you know?" Yang hummed, idly swirling the alcohol in her glass a little. "You messed up a lot, but you gotta hit the ground running, right?"

"Hmm…"

Not long after he had gotten the bottle and started to talk, the two had grown a small… companioship, it seemed. Even in his depressed, melancholic state, Lancelot still managed to keep his lips shut tight on exactly what his issue was. So he just told her of his… different problems. How he felt inadequate. That he was unworthy of attending a place as prestigious as Beacon when there are others who should be more qualified. How he felt that he wouldn't make a good Huntsman. How he felt that he might end up dishonoring his family.

How he had made mistakes that caused pain and grief to his friends. How he desired punishment, yet received none.

There was something about laying all this out to a stranger he had only known for less than a few minutes that was… calming. Yang was an odd girl. She didn't judge, at least, not outwardly, and she listened to him, only interrupting to ask small questions for context. He didn't give many, and she respected that decision and never asked further.

And then, she told of her own problems. How she felt guilty herself for once endangering her little sister in a foolish search for her wayward mother. How she wanted to travel the world and seek thrills, but also to find answers to where her mother went, and why she left.

How she was starting to realize she had noticeable issues controlling her anger.

"Man, we're both a little messed up, huh?" Yang chuckles as she holds her class out to him. Lancelot smiles a bit grimly before he holds his glass out, and the two budding alcoholics clink their glasses together.

"A toast to guilt and getting over past mistakes?"

"I'll drink to that." She laughs before they both down their drinks in one fell swoop. It barely burned his throat, what sort of weak alcohol was this?

"So, feel any better talking about it?" Yang asked after a few moments of silence as she tucks a stray bang of her long, luxurious hair behind her ear.

"Just a bit. I know that my path for redemption is still long, and harrowing… but I am not alone at least." Lancelot sighs, his eyes closed.

"That's the spirit." Yang grins, her eyes catching the bearded man Lancelot talked to before starting to walk off, before she stands up. "'scuse me a moment, I've gotta ask Junior over there a couple of questions."

The knight nods as she walks off and starts to strike up a conversation with the now named 'Junior'.

Odd name for someone that old.

"Still drinking, kid?" The bartender asked as Lancelot stared down at his empty glass.

"Hm? Oh yes, please. Something stronger preferably, I couldn't even feel a buzz."

"Sheesh, you got a helluva strong-"

Whatever the bartender was going to say was interrupted by a loud crash, as Lancelot snaps his head around to find that… Yang had just punched Junior.

Hard.

The older man was currently all the way on the other side of the room, feet dangling on some now thoroughly thrashed audio equipment, and now the club's guards, all wearing the exact same suits and red sunglasses, were starting to surround Yang.

"What on earth happened?" Lancelot murmured as he prepared to stand up and assist her.

He soon found himself sitting back down as he realized that she didn't need any.

Yang was quite… a beast in combat it seemed. Those odd, yellow bracelets she had were actually one of those mecha-shift capable weapons. In this case, gauntlets.

Which also doubled as firearms. Shotguns in this case.

"Technology sure is something… I wonder…" The knight murmurs as he watched the girl with thinly veiled awe, admiring the teen's method of utterly demolishing every single one of Junior's henchman that came her way. Her fists flew and so did the guards, each one being pummeled hard enough that Lancelot could see some of their Auras being shattered the instant her fists made contact with their faces.

The Berserker's brow twitches a little as he sees an image overlap with Yang's form. One that was also blonde, but her hair was a dirtier shade of yellow, with vibrant green eyes and a savage smirk. "She reminds me a little of…"

The similarities between Yang and Mordred were a little unsettling, but thankfully, they were minute enough that Lancelot didn't feel too disturbed.

After a few moments of watching, he turned back to his glass, finding a new bottle placed onto it, and the bartender gone. Shrugging, he simply pours himself a new glass of the stuff. He could idly hear that a pair of unknown voices were sounding out behind him on the dancefloor. Seems the battle was being joined by more people. Women from the sound of it.

As he sipped from his drink, he hummed in surprise. It was wine. Good tasting wine as well, and it tasted strong. Perhaps enough to actually take off the edge if he drank a few more glasses.

Finally finding some alcohol that was actually doing its job, he finished the glass in one gulp, before he eagerly began to pour himself a new one….

…it was never meant to be, unfortunately, as the glass lost all of its contents when the body of one of the guards was suddenly sent crashing into the bar counter, shattering his glass, and the bottle, leaving him holding what remained of the neck.

Lancelot's brow twitched. His teeth grit for a moment. His fingers flexed.

Slowly, the black knight sighed…

"Get the fuck out of the way kid!" The guard growls as he scrambles back to his feet and shoves Lancelot out of the way to try and escape the insanity.

…..and then he snapped.

* * *

Yang was having a great time, all things considered. She got a nice drink, got to have a little soul bearing session with a good looking stranger, and now she was getting a workout.

Junior was a pushover, his boys even more so.

These chicks though, sisters obviously, red and white duo. They were good.

On their own, she could totally take them. But together, they were a nasty duo, and she was actually struggling a bit, deflecting the red one's claws with her fists and dodging the white one's bladed heels.

If there was supposed to be a theme to their outfits and weaponry, she wasn't seeing it.

"Hold still!" The white one, Melanie or something, growled as she kicked at Yang. That's rich.

"Yeah, not exactly looking for some scars from that kind of weapon! It'd be pretty embarrassing for me to say I got scratched by a fancy pair of heels!" Yang grins as she takes a big leap back, creating some space between her and the sisters.

"You little-" The white one growls as she dashes towards her…

…and gets sidelined by a screaming lackey, the both of them sent tumbling across the dancefloor.

Yang's eyebrows raise up as she watches the two with confusion. Where the hell did HE come from?

The sound of expensive shoes clacking on the floor and wood straining draws her attention back to the bar, where she sees Lancelot walking towards them…

….is... is that a bar stool? Is he holding a bar stool?

"I had really hoped that some alcohol would be able to help me work off some of my stress tonight…" The purple haired pretty boy sighs, eyes closed. "…but I suppose working it off with violence… helps as well."

At that moment, Yang Xiao Long saw something she would always find… a little disturbing.

The bar stool in Lancelot's hand just… started to turn dark.

Red, glowing veins seem to grow from under his palm and spread all over the bar stool, the wooden chair turning black as the veins start to make a spider web pattern all over the surface, dark wisps trailing off of it.

Never has a bar stool looked so menacing.

Lancelot's eyes suddenly snap open, his irises now red, something that made Yang freeze.

He was pissed, and his eyes were red.

It was… just like her?

"You'll pay for hurting my sister with one of those grunts, pretty boy!" The red twin, Miltia growls as she rushes towards Lancelot and attempts to gouge her claws across his face, her eyes almost bulging in shock when he twists and lifts the stool up with one hand, blocking her strike.

The stool didn't break. It didn't bend, it didn't creak, her claws simply clanged against it as if it was made of metal.

"W-what!?"

"Confused? This is my Semblance." Lancelot growled before he flicks his wrist, knocking the red twin off and away from him, her feet skidding on the floor. "It is simple. Anything I touch… becomes a weapon. I infuse my Aura into it and no matter what it is, as long as it can be used to harm another, as long as it can be seen as a weapon, however unconventional, it becomes mine."

Lancelot drew up to his full height as he held the bar stool out in front of him like a blade, eyes narrowed. "This is my Semblance. Knight of Owner: A Knight does not die empty handed!"

Silence filled the now mostly empty club, besides the still going music, for a few moments before Yang snorts.

"T-that's a really long name for a Semblance dude. Just call it Owner or something."

"It's a ridiculous name." The white twin, Miltia, growls as she finally gets up, pushing the unconscious grunt off of her as she joins her sister's side.

Lancelot's eye twitches before he turns towards Miltia. "Just for that, I'm taking you down first."

The white clad twin scoffs, rolling her eyes. "Right, as if you-"

She immediately had to duck backwards when the bar stool in Lancelot's hand was suddenly flung towards her like a missile, the improvised weapon flying right into a wall and smashing into it with a loud crash, blasting a hole in it.

"W-what the-" Miltia gasps as she sees the hole in the wall, caused by a BAR STOOL of all things, before her instincts scream at her once more, causing her to backstep as Lancelot rushes her with a rod in his hand.

It was one of the legs from the bar stool, ripped off and now being used like a bat as he swings fiercely at her.

"Hang on Miltia!" Melanie exclaims, preparing to assist her sister, before she has to deflect a shotgun shell from Yang's Ember Celica. "Hey! Move it!"

"Fat chance. Not so tough when you're fighting solo, huh?" The blonde grins as she punches her fists together before rushing towards the red twin.

This was gonna be quick.

* * *

All things considered, Lancelot thought that this was doing wonders for his stress.

Of course, violently swinging the leg of a bar stool at a young woman wasn't typically how he would handle such an issue, but so far, he found it was working.

Perhaps his Madness Enhancement has either degraded, or become enhanced to a point that he was lucid. Either way, this girl, Miltia, was combat ready, and clearly somewhat experienced in a fight.

He would feel little remorse in defeating her in combat.

With a fast downward swing, he slams the wooden leg into the floor, narrowly missing Miltia. Damn it all. Was his body that weak?

No, he wasn't wearing his armor. That must be it. His parameters weren't at their best right now since he was not wearing any armor at all, and utilizing only one of his Noble Phantasms.

Consciously at least.

Glancing at Yang's fight from the corner of his eye, he notices that she was just about finishing up, having managed to lock the red twin into a fierce combo of punches.

"Don't look away!"

Melanie took advantage of his distraction to kick at him with her bladed heel, only for his hand to lash out and grab her by the ankle, the telltale veins of Knight of Owner creeping onto her weaponized footwear, causing her eyes to widen.

"Yes, my apologies fair madam. I suppose I should end this fight, no?" Lancelot huffs, dropping the bar stool leg, before he grasps her ankle with both hands and starts to swing her around.

Melanie shrieked as she was spun around like some sort of doll in the hands of a child, or a flail in the hands of a soldier, her long hair flapping around as she tries to struggle, the room spinning around her as Lancelot begins to spin faster, and faster.

"P-p-p-put me doooooown!"

"As you wish!"

The Berserker lets out a roar as he lets go suddenly, hurling her through the air and sending her crashing through one of the glass pillars and slamming into a wall, her Aura flickering as it breaks, before she drops onto the hard floor, groaning.

"T-this… sucks…" The white clad bodyguard murmurs before she falls unconscious.

Lancelot sighs as he straightens up, adjusting his tie. That was… well, it wasn't fun, but it did make him feel better. Hopefully that didn't make him a bad person.

Not like that was difficult.

"Whoo! That was awesome! We kicked butt!"

He turns to see Yang walking towards him with one of her hands held up for some reason.

Ah, wait, he remembers this. It is called a… High Five.

He raises his hand to hers, prompting a grin as she slaps her palm onto his own. "Man, it's got a dumb name but your Semblance is really cool, even if you did use it on something dumb like a bar stool. Seriously."

"Next time I shall endeavor to grab a pool cue instead." He chuckles, his response gaining a laugh from her as she slaps him on the back.

"You're alright Lance. I'm gonna look forward to being classmates with ya."

"Neither of you will be any kind of classmates by the time I'm done with you."

The two bar brawlers turn to find Junior walking towards them, holding up a….

…a….

"Rocket Launcher…" Lancelot murmurs. He saw one of these weapons in the catalogue magazine. Explosive projectile launchers. Like carrying your own Fighter Jet.

"Uh oh." Yang gulps, before the two of them break away as Junior starts firing missiles at them.

Multiple rockets crash into the dance floor and explode, debris flying everywhere as Yang starts to try and detonate the rockets before they even reach her with her shotgun blasts.

Meanwhile, Lancelot was just staring at the weapon with absolute desire.

He NEEDED that. He didn't know why. Perhaps some sort of greed had become ingrained in him as a result of becoming a lucid Berserker. But he wanted that weapon.

The man could probably buy a new one. The question is, how to get close? Bullrushing was a possibility but he didn't want to stand out any more than he already….

….he looked behind him and realized he had somehow maneuvered around back to a bar. A different bar on the other end of the room it seemed.

Perfect.

* * *

"Do you ever run out of freaking rockets!?" Yang growls out as she bobs and weaves between the missiles, blasting several out of the air with her own bullets. This was getting ridiculous. If she could just get close.

"Things have been rough around here little lady! I packed extra ammo in case something like this happens!" Junior laughs, continuing his assault. He was gonna make that little blonde bimbo pay for manhandling his nuts like-

The next sequence of events, would always humiliate Junior, also known as Hei Xiong, and would always make Yang laugh her ass off.

In the middle of his rocket assault, right as Yang was about to make a rush towards him by using her shotgun blast recoil to launch her into the air at him, a bar counter covered in glowing red veins suddenly flew across the room and slammed into Junior, sending him crashing into a wall, knocking him out cold, his weapon getting wrenched from his hands in the impact and dropping to the ground.

Yang's jaw was agape as she stared at ground zero of the bar counter crash site, the entire counter smashed into pieces with Junior groaning, buried underneath.

"Perfect. It even comes with extra ammunition."

She slowly turned to find Lancelot casually striding up to the fallen weapon and picking it up, fiddling with it a bit before he manages to pull out a strap that seemed to be already installed on the weapon to loop around one of his shoulders like a guitar case or a bag. The knight turns to regard Yang's incredulous expression with a raised brow.

"What?"

"D-did you just throw a bar counter at him?"

"Yes."

"How did you rip it out of the floor?"

"Semblance."

Yang stared at Lancelot for a few moments before she snorted and started to laugh.

She didn't get any info on where her mom was.

But this was still a good night.

* * *

"You sure you don't need a ride? Bumblebee fits for two~!" Yang chirps as she settles onto her bike and puts her helmet on.

"I am grateful for the offer, but I am fine. A walk is much healthier anyway. Perhaps another time?" Lancelot smiles at his new… friend? Future classmate? Companion?

Yes, friend. That is a good way to describe the unusual, quirky blonde he had met.

"Heh, sounds good to me. See ya around, Lance."

"Fare thee well, Yang."

The blonde chuckles before she starts her bike motor and takes off, the vehicle swerving off into the night as Lancelot watches, rubbing his chin.

"I should get myself one of those…"

"E-erm, excuse me?"

The knight blinked before he turned around to find a short girl, younger than his Master, probably around… fifteen? She had black hair, which strangely had a red tint at the tips of her bangs, and wore an odd, gothic dress and corset colored black with red frills and laces. She had a long, red hooded cape, and her eyes were a startling shade of silver, it was almost like looking directly into the moon.

"Yes, fair maiden?"

"O-oh gosh, maiden, me?" The girl's eyes widen a little as her cheeks get a little pink before she shakes her head. "A-anyway, sorry, I don't normally talk to strangers but I heard my sister's voice for a moment so I was wondering if you saw her or maybe you were talking to her? I know I heard her but by the time I got here, you were the only one here and there's a bar nearby and I know she likes to go to bars to try and get drinks or pick up boys and stuff-"

Lancelot blinked as the girl began to ramble a little, her mouth going a mile a minute before he chuckled and held his hand up, causing her to freeze and cover her mouth.

"S-sorry, I ramble when I get a little nervous."

"It is fine, it was honestly adorable. If your sister happens to be a blonde named Yang, yes, I was just talking to her, and then she took off on her bike and headed that way." He turns and points down the road she took, causing the girl to groan and palm her face.

"I DID miss her… oh man.. I better catch up. Thanks mister!"

Catch up? How on earth would she-

Suddenly, the girl was a blur of movement as she bolted down the road, zipping away and leaving a trail of rose petals fluttering in her wake. The Berserker's eyes were wide as his head snapped towards her, following her movement as she vanishes into the night. That was… absurdly fast.

"Semblances really ARE diverse…" He murmurs as he slowly turns and walks down the empty street, the shattered moon hanging above him as he heads towards the Bullhead docks, newly procured rocket launcher (which was also a club after he examined it with his Noble Phantasm) dangling from his back.

Thinking back on the events of today… it wasn't a bad day at all.

He made a friend. He had some drinks. He relieved some stress by fighting, briefly. He obtained himself a piece of modern weaponry.

He knew he wouldn't be able to lie to his team about what had happened tonight. Emiya especially. He was going to be furious.

But…

…he didn't care.

All things considered… he felt fine with how today had gone.

He just needed to soldier on and keep his head high. Steel himself and prepare for the future.

Because that is what a knight did.

* * *

 _Hotfix: Just letting you all know, I put a poll up on my main page regarding this fanfic and the mysterious missing Servants. Give it a vote or two~  
_

 _Pheeeeeeeeew._

 _This chapter took a while. I'm not too sure how I feel about how it turned out. Writing Lancelot and Yang is hard, especially writing the bar scene._

 _I've been having a hard time getting my words out right, so sorry if this chapter's quality isn't as good._

 _Now then, I know a lot of people have questions on how weak they are right now, how scaled down our Servant friends are compared to team RWBY and such._

 _Those answers will be obtained, eventually._

 _Also, I DID watch the most recent chapters of RWBY. Well, specifically 1 to 5. I am… shook by the revelation about Ozma and Salem._

 _I mean, I KNEW they were probably a thing. But I wasn't expecting it to be something like THAT. Its… insane._

 _Also, I love the voice for the Dark Brother. He reminds me of All For One from My Hero Academia._

 _Anyhow, as for FGO updates, my rolls have been utter shit lately. But hey, when you're F2P (Outside of guaranteed 5 star Gachas in the middle of the year and at New Years), you can't expect good luck with rolling. I did manage to finally finish Babylon and Solomon, so now I'm heading straight into the Lostbelt stuff so I don't miss out on future events, THEN I'll start doing the actual Epic of Remnant arcs in the game.  
_

 _Even though I knew it was going to happen, even though I thought I was prepared, I still felt a bit of a pain in my heart when I saw what Doctor Roman did._

 _Also, Mashu has fully solidified herself in my eyes as a solid kouhai who has no peer. She's such a cinnamon bun. She needs to be cherished._

 _The only highlights worth mentioning (Besides the fact I managed to summon the most dere of tsuns, Ereshkigal, when I was rolling for Enkidu) are the fact that at the last little celebration event that allowed us to get a free 4 Star Servant, I was TORN._

 _Because obviously, pride demanded I had to complete this fanfic's roster by either getting Emiyalter or Lancelot._

 _But I also… REALLY wanted Saber Alter because she's been my favorite Servant design aesthetically since I saw her in the original Heaven's Feel route when I read the VN._

 _In the end, I chose Emiyalter, because I only had two 4 Star Archers. Normal Emiya, who is a good boy, and everyone's favorite demon lord of the sixth heaven, Nobunaga Oda…_

 _….whose event I flunked the last time it happened so I can't ascend her at all past her first stage._

 _Oops._

 _Other than that, I tried to roll for the new Chinese Servants from the new Lostbelt chapter today. For two reasons._

 _One, is that one of the Servants is a Demiservant. And I do like those._

 _Two, is that the new Ruler, Emperor Shi Huang Di, is voice by LELOUCH VI BRITANNIA._

 _And… well, I've been rewatching Code Geass and reading a lot of Code Geass fanfics so I got Lelouch on the mind._

 _Anyway, I didn't get any of them. I did get Scheherazade, who is now my first 5 Star Caster…. Even though I didn't want her, but hey… its fine… maybe I'm not meant to have Zero on my team…._

 _Hopefully I get him during the New Year Guaranteed Gacha._

 _Anyway, next chapter is Ash to Ashes._

 _Has anyone figured out where these little POV change chapters' names come from yet?_

 _No?_

 _Okay._

 _Also, if there's any grammatical errors and such in this, again, no beta, and typically write this stuff late at night because its the only time I ever feel creative._

 _Yeah, real nice brain. Make me feel creative when I'm feeling tired and trying to sleep._

 _This is why I have insomnia._


	5. Ash To Ashes

_Pre chapter AN: Don't forget to vote in the poll on my profile. If the votes somehow end up with going even almost across the board, I might need to do a coin toss… or roll dice if it comes to it._

 _Also, nobody's managed to catch on to the naming scheme of these past four chapters.  
_

* * *

Chapter Five: Ash To Ashes

* * *

 _His ideals._

 _His convictions._

 _His determination._

 _All of it…. Amounted to nothing._

 _He tried so hard. So hard not to become like Him._

 _In a way… he succeeded._

 _He didn't end up like Him._

 _He became worse._

 _Standing amongst a sea of bodies, his once steel grey eyes had become a murky, detached shade of yellow. His skin, once telling of his oriental descent, grew darker over the years from overuse of his Tracing, his Magic Circuits burning him out, going from a tanned brown to almost ebony._

 _He didn't even look Japanese anymore. He looked nothing like he once did. His hair was cut short to the point of it looking like a buzzcut, his Holy Shroud had been discarded, and the blades and bows that he once used fervently and almost religiously had been twisted and transformed into firearms._

 _His ideals… his dreams... his very Origin had become so twisted that he wasn't even sure who he was anymore._

 _And standing amidst all these corpses, each one innocent for the most part, he realized that this was it._

 _This was the last straw._

 _He failed to catch that witch. That manipulative, hedonistic and borderline demonic excuse of a Nun that used these people._

 _One woman, ONE woman._

 _A woman whose existence was a contradiction between sinful and innocent. Pure and defiling. Angelic and demonic._

 _A demonic Bodhisattva who amassed such a following of people, a cult of individuals who so strongly believed she was a saint, their savior, a messiah, that they would lay down their lives for her._

 _And they did._

 _Now they were dead, Sesshoin Kiara escaped, and now, Emiya Shirou was all alone._

 _As the blood dripped from the blades of his modified Kanshou and Bakuya and went down to join the ever growing pool on the floor, Shirou closed his eyes._

 _The hero of Justice was dead._

 _The Killing Machine was forged._

* * *

 _Bright lights. A connection between human and Heroic Spirit. Cerulean orbs that spun and formed rings, before collapsing into a pillar of glowing azure._

 _EMIYA Alter sighed._

 _So even he was being summoned. And he had a faint idea what he was being summoned for._

 _As his eyes opened up, he found himself face to face with a short girl bearing hair that was a striking shade of orange. Her eyes were wide and a shade of mustard yellow, a big grin on her face._

 _Standing behind her was a boy, probably the same age as that girl, with spiked and messy black hair and turquoise eyes. He was calm, and wore a suit that made him immediately think of the ones his father wore. The resemblance was actually uncanny._

 _And standing beside the teenager was a man, middle aged, with chin length grey hair that was messy and tied into a ponytail. He wore an expensive looking pinstripe suit that was black and grey. A red cravat, or a scarf of some kind, was tucked under the suit's jacket, and a pocket watch dangling from a chain was looped around his neck._

 _He was unarmed, but a single look at his twitching fingers and grim smile told EMIYA all he needed to know._

 _This man was combat ready… not just that… but he was a Servant._

 _"W-wow.. talk about tall, dark and handsome…"_

 _Ah, the girl was talking. She was standing at the front, and he felt a connection, so she must be his new master._

 _"Hm. So you're my Master huh?" EMIYA Alter raises a brow before slowly crossing his arms. "What a terrible face."_

 _"T-THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY!?" The orange haired imp suddenly screeched in shock, the boy behind her flinching at her volume while the man in grey flexed his fingers and seemed to prepare to do something before the boy holds a hand out in front of him and shakes his head._

 _"Well, whatever." The Archer shrugged, closing his eyes. "I might look weird, but I'm an Archer. Please use me well."_

 _"Ohohoho no, you do NOT get to brush off talking smack about my face just like-wait, an Archer?"_

 _The girl looked pensive for a moment before she looked up at him._

 _"Your… is your name… Emiya?"_

 _The Archer tensed briefly before he opens his eyes._

 _"I'm nobody."_

 _With that, he walks past her, ignoring the anxious glint in her wide eyes, the confused and calculative one in the boy's, and the utterly bloodthirsty one in the man's._

 _"I'm just a machine. Just point me to the enemy and tell me to shoot. That's all I'm good for."_

* * *

"I'm very tempted to just shoot you all in the head and be done with this since clearly, none of you know the meaning of DISCREET. Not even the fucking Assassin apparently."

EMIYA Alter wasn't pleased. In fact, he was livid.

The past two days have been nothing but one headache after another.

His Master was in a coma.

Angra Mainyu had transformed them all into teenagers.

They had no choice but to enroll in a school for aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses so their Master received the best medical attention.

The ASSASSIN of the group somehow got spotted by a teenager of all things and let her live after she saw his Noble Phantasm.

Angra Mainyu dropped a bomb shell of information that they MIGHT not be the only Servants who made it here, and the conditions of the others are up in the air.

And now this.

It was the morning after Lancelot's little excursion, and said Berserker was currently sitting on the floor with his legs tucked under him as he sat in a seiza position, currently sweating at the expression of barely constrained fury on the resident Archer's face, veins violently popping up all over the dark skinned 'teen's forehead.

"N-now Sir Emiya-"

"You got involved in a bar fight. Those places have security cameras, and you just let yourself get seen tearing it up because you were… angry?" Shirou interrupted, his voice low and seemingly calm. "There are forests near here that you could have let loose, and you had to do it in a bar?"

"I… was hoping I could get a little drunk to take off the tension but things escalated-"

"Oh so now you're telling me you got in a bar fight because you were BLITZED!?"

"N-no, the alcohol wasn't strong enough and my constitution prevented it, b-but it isn't that bad! I didn't start the bar fight for the record, there was a young woman who-"

Shirou scoffed and rolled his eyes. Of course, it had to be another fucking girl.

Still, Shirou listened to Lancelot's recounting of the bar fight and everything else that followed, and finding that the Berserker had the sense to actually exposit to the onlookers on what his 'Semblance' did, and nothing else about its true power, he felt his anger die down.

Just a bit.

"Man, of course the Berserker of all people ended up in a bar fight…" Avenger muttered from his spot on his bead, a face splitting grin on his lips, while Cursed Arm simply shook his head.

"I am not sure what you even expected, Sir Lancelot. As if human alcohol could have any sort of effect on us."

"Well, I thought that too but… we are not Servants anymore. For all intents and purposes we are human, so I had thought…" Lancelot murmured before he shook his head. "No, I had HOPED that I could at least become inebriated enough that I would forget about how dire this situation actually is…"

"I mean, I don't blame ya buddy." Angra Mainyu chuckled, resting his cheek in his palm as he laid on his side. "C'mon, you've gone from a brainless Servant that kept screaming AAAAAARTHUUUUUUUR every damn minute of the day, to someone actually sane and capable of thinking and speaking for himself. If I was you, I'd try to get hammered too."

There was a brief moment of tension when Lancelot's light blue eyes flickered red and his form briefly wafted with darkness, before he grit his teeth and bowed his head.

"Seriously? Even saying her NAME does that to you!?" The Avenger huffed, his eyebrows raised up. "You know it's a really common name in English, right? The hell are you gonna do if we meet other kids or fucking teachers with that name?"

"I know, I know.. I will… work on it…" The Berserker muttered.

Shirou sighed and massaged his temples. That's it. He's had it with these idiots.

"Hm? Where are you going?" The resident Assassin asked as he looked towards Shirou, who was currently opening up the window and beginning to crawl out.

"Anywhere but here. If I stay here any longer, I 'will' shoot one of you. Or myself."

With that, he dropped from the window and down to the ground, startling a janitor as he began his trek towards the Bullhead platforms.

* * *

If there was a city on Earth that Vale reminded him of, he couldn't remember it. Not that he could remember much these days. Every day, his memories of the previous day grew foggier and harder to recall, and his memories of the day before that even fainter, and anything up to a week ago is lost to him.

He had to postpone writing in his new journal (the old one still being in Chaldea) to immortalize his memories due to the unfortunate demise of his pen prior to the fistfight he had with Angra Mainyu.

A fistfight he almost lost.

The fact that he almost lost a fistfight, regardless of the fact that he wasn't actually aiming to kill, to the WEAKEST Servant in Chaldea, truly made him realize how human his body was right now.

It also made him feel ill at the fact that technically, the Avenger was currently the greatest killer on this planet. With the rest of his Master's team unaccounted for, and the three of them reduced to being humans again for the most part, Angra Mainyu's cursed existence as one of the greatest slayers of humankind probably made him one of the most dangerous people to walk the face of Remnant.

That thought… really didn't sit well with him, and it showed on his face as he walked through the streets, people parting away from him like he was walking with his gun drawn and cocked at the ready.

Even though he looked like a teenager, he still made an intimidating sight, his brow furrowed, and a scowl firmly in place as he marched on the pavement, his black waistcoat fluttering behind him. It took a lot of effort to ensure that his Magic Circuits, especially the corrupted and damaged ones that manifested as bright, sickly yellow cracks in his skin like fractured leylines, didn't activate in response to his anger.

It was with this face that he spent the entire day walking around, scoping out the streets and noting possible vantage points.

This may be an excuse to get away from the others, but also doubled as him scouting the general area of Vale. He could just jump around on the rooftops, but he didn't want to garner any attention, and he couldn't enter his Spiritual Form, so he was stuck doing it the old fashioned way.

"Wha-oof!"

Great, and now he bumped into someone. This really was not his day.

Shirou glances down at the person he'd bumped into when he went to turn a corner on the street, finding it to be a young girl with black hair that slowly gradated to red around the tips of the bangs, wearing a-wait a minute…. that sounds familiar.

"I-I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going and then I bumped into you and please don't be mad at me you look really scary right now!" The girl blabbered, her silver eyes wide as she stared up at Shirou, apologizing profusely. Right, the appearance matched the description Lancelot gave of that Yang girl's sister.

They didn't sound even remotely related by appearance.

"Hmph. It's fine, I wasn't looking either. You're making a scene." The Archer grunted, closing his eyes and massaging his temples again. People were actually watching this scene as they walked by, like they had nothing better to do. Great, he looked like an asshole now.

"Y-you still look angry though…" The girl murmured. "E-erm, w-wait, I can make it up to you! O-oh wait, you're probably not too interested in weapons…"

That made him pause as his eyes opened and his expression evened out. "Actually, I am interested in weapons."

A part of him wondered if he shouldn't have said that, as the girl's eyes lit up with a sparkle of delight. "Y-you are!? That's great, I love weapons too! I can show you to a nice blacksmith I go to here that sells really good materials for weapons! It's where I get all the expensive mods for my sweetheart here!"

The girl pulls out what appeared to be a red, compact and rectangular object, but the moment his eyes focused and he activated Structural Grasping, he knew what it was immediately.

"This is Crescent Rose, she's a customized scythe-"

"-that also doubles as a high caliber sniper rifle with high recoil that has enough strength to launch a person airborne, has three separate modes for combat and has a blade that can shift ninety degrees to become more of a glaive, which also changes the position of the actual muzzle which changes the fighting style completely…" Shirou muttered, scanning every last detail of the weapon.

Even though he found it very difficult to Trace a sword these days with his corrupted Origin, something like this, which was the perfect marriage of blade and gun, entered his Unlimited Blade Works with no issues. He knew that he could definitely Trace this.

He blinked when he realized that the girl was now staring at him with a slack jaw.

"Y-you.. y-you could tell all that about Crescent Rose just from one look..?"

Swearing internally, Shirou shrugged. "It's a part of my Semblance."

"T-that is so cool! You could immediately tell how another Huntsman might fight just from looking at their weapon and unveiling all their cool secrets! What else can it do!?" She squeals as she suddenly appears to have crossed the foot of distance between them to stare right up at him with nothing but pure awe.

He was not feeling very comfortable with the amount of joy in this girl's eyes.

Still, Shirou simply sighed and shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't tell you. Trade secret."

"Awww…" She pouted, which made his very cold, glass heart briefly crack before mending itself.

It was a pretty effective puppy dog face, but not the best. He's survived worse puppy dog faces from…

…from…▂▅▅▂▃▃ ** _?_**

…who ever used that face on him..? He can't remember. It was probably his Master…

So who is he remembering with white hair and re ** _d-_** ▅▅▂▃▃ ** _?_**

Still, not noticing his conflicted expression, the girl simply returns her folded up weapon to her back and smiles. "Well, no problem, I'll find out your secrets eventually! Let me show you to that store! We can talk about weapons on the way and talk even more about them when we get there!"

She pauses and her smile dims as she fidgets. "I mean… if you want to, that is… I'm sorry if I'm annoying you or anything."

EMIYA Alter felt nothing as he saw the slightly crestfallen expression on the girl's face.

But…

Emiya Shirou, who might not be as far gone as he once thought, felt a twinge of pity.

"I'd like to see the weapon shop…. And talk about weapons with you." Shirou finds himself saying, almost forcing it out.

The girl's expression does a complete hundred and eighty degree flip as she smiles and nods excitedly before she begins to walk past him and point off across the street. "It's this way, I know how to get there like the back of my hand! Oh, my name's Ruby by the way! Ruby Rose!"

"Shirou… Emiya." He sighs as he follows after her.

As the two wait for the stoplight on the street to go red so they can cross, Ruby turns to look up at him.

"So, what kind of weapons do you like?"

"Well…."

* * *

It took half an hour to get to the smithy, and the entire walk there was filled with nothing but questions.

And to Ruby's credit… all her questions were very good ones, despite the rapid fire pace at which she shot them.

Questions about the kinds of weapons he uses, how his Semblance (which he still hasn't elaborated on outside of being able to scan weapons immediately and know what they are made of) plays into how he fights, what kind of mods he uses for his gear, the ammunition he prefers, the types of Dust he tends to include in his ammunition, and many, MANY, more.

At some point, he found himself talking about his modified Kanshou and Bakuya. A large part of his soul fundamentally wanted to reject the blades turned into bladed revolvers when he first made them. It was one of the big steps that sealed the fate of his eroding Origin. They were efficient, and deadly, and despite that, he found that he always felt a degree of disgust when he wielded them, though that faded over time.

And yet as he described them, their color schemes, how despite being revolvers they actually usually shot bullets in bursts and were closer to semi-automatic pistols, and how the two weapons could fuse together into a double bladed glaive, the delight and excitement of the girl known as Ruby Rose only grew stronger and stronger.

She appreciated his creations and she hasn't even laid her eyes on them.

He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"If the bullets are fired semi-automatically like that but still punch holes in Grimm skulls efficiently then they must have insane recoil! How do you compensate for it? How do you even dual wield them? Holding just one in your hand must be tough!"

"Exercise for the most part, the recoil isn't actually that strong due to how Kanshou and Bakuya are made."

"And how are they made? What kind of materials did you use? Must be some sort of material inlaid within the actual inner workings of the guns to absorb any shock…" Ruby tilts her head curiously. "Wait, don't tell me… trade secret?"

He grunts with a nod, smirking just a little at how quickly she caught on. Ruby smiles and nods.

"I can get that, I mean, it's not really fair since you know everything about how Crescent Rose works and what she's made of but I don't know anything about what Kanshou and Bakuya are made of, but not everyone likes being vocal about their babies!" She giggles before she stops walking. "Here we are!"

Shirou stops and looks up at the store they were in front of.

The Valiant Anvil.

Well, it wasn't a bad name at least.

Time to see what weapon shops in this world looked like.

* * *

This place was a veritable paradise for him.

Weapons lined the walls, each one mounted to their stands and shelves, in their different forms and modes.

Every single weapon in this store was a martial weapon…

….and also a gun.

Every. Single. One.

A mace that was also a shotgun, a pair of daggers that doubled as flintlocks, a spear that was also a rifle, a sword that incorporated Dust to be an elemental energy blade and also doubled as an energy pistol, a gatling gun that was also pile bunker (Lancelot must NEVER know this weapon exists), there were so many weapons and every single one of them functioned as a firearm as well.

"Shirou? You okay?"

He blinks, having been stunned from his Structural Grasping almost being overwhelmed for a moment at the wealth of information scanning all the weapons at once gave him (He was getting rusty, that shouldn't have made him freeze up, they weren't even Noble Phantasms) as he looks down at a smug Ruby.

"Sorry. Information overload. I always automatically scan weapons when I see them to evaluate how dangerous they are, so I just.. got lost in thought."

"It's okay! I had the exact same face when I first walked in here!" The silver eyed sugar freak grinned happily at seeing a fellow weapon nut share in her little slice of heaven as she walks in and starts to browse the wares.

Shirou follows suit as he starts taking more scrutinizing looks at the weapons, his Structural Grasping now focusing on individuals instead of groups.

These weapons all had varying ages, from ones that have been sitting on the shelf for any length of time between weeks to months, to ones that were fresh off the mass production line.

Not all of these weapons were made here, as some of their histories dictate. Some were imported from other producers and companies. Some of these weapons had brand names even.

Still… he didn't recognize any of the materials being used in some of these weapons.

Okay, so he recognized things like steel, titanium, iron, brass, even silver and the like. But then there's some ores that he just isn't familiar with. They sounded like the kind of ores developers make up in sci-fi or fantasy video games. Axisteel? Remonite? Oumidium? The hell are those?

But they still enter his Reality Marble all the same, so he knows whatever these ores are, he can still replicate them.

Maybe even permanently.

He'd tested beforehand. Being a different planet entirely, Gaia wasn't present here, and the planet itself didn't seem to have a consciousness that rejected the existence of his Projections. If it did have anything like Gaia inside, it either didn't care, or accepted his Projections as part of the world. Possibly due to the existence of Dust and Semblances. He didn't know.

Either way, theoretically he could replicate ores… perhaps. He can keep Kanshou and Bakuya Traced indefinitely at least, if he was right about this. He hasn't exactly stress tested it.

Not just that, but perhaps, with the resources in this world, he could make himself new weapons..?

"Ah, I know that look."

He blinks and turns to look at a pleased Ruby, who seemed to have bought herself a bag of what might have been whetstones and cleaning wax.

"What look?"

"The look you had! That's the face of someone who's planning something for his weapons! Are you gonna modify Kanshou and Bakuya? Ooh, or are you gonna make a new one? I know not everyone sticks to just two weapons! I'm a specialist so I only ever use my baby but with your Semblance you're probably way more versatile, right?"

Well, she wasn't wrong. He nods and smirks just a little. "I might be planning something… I was thinking of a sniper rifle of sorts actually."

Her face somehow grew even more excited. Just how much enjoyment did she get from talking about weapons? Was she twisted like him as well? Did she not have any friends to talk to about her hobbies? Was this the first time she's been able to talk shop about weapons so much?

"Sniper rifles are my specialty!"

"I gathered that from the weapon you've got that would make the Grim Reaper jealous." Shirou chuckled for a moment, before he actually tried to picture the one Grim Reaper he is aware of wielding Crescent Rose.

Needless to say, the mental image of the true Old Man of the Mountain wielding something like that…

…actually looked hilarious.

And terrifying. Purging that thought, right now.

"Aww shucks." Ruby giggles, blushing a little. "W-well, what kind of sniper rifle do you have in mind? What kind of weapon does it mechashift into?"

"Actually, I was thinking of it just being a sniper rifle." Shirou hums as he looks towards the shelves again. "I'm thinking of making it something with specialized ammo… ammo with massive recoil that would probably dislocate a normal person's shoulder when they try to fire it."

"That's…" The little red riding hood with a scythe hums, brow furrowed. "But… ammo like that… that's less of a sniper rifle and more of an anti-tank rifle… or a railgun…"

"That's essentially what I'm going for. Something that would knock a Bullhead out of the sky with one shot." He nodded, before he glanced at her horrified expression. "Just using that as an example, I'm not going to commit a crime."

"Right, right! Well, something like that would need to be made out of the same stuff they make rocket launchers out of… compacted… recoil dampeners if possible, the actual barrel would have to be really strong to sustain that kind of force without fracturing from the pressure or even outright suffering blowback and just exploding…"

Shirou vaguely remembers his Master once mentioning that whenever he started thinking tactical routes in combat and how to utilize his arsenal in the most efficient way possible, he looked as if he was trying to solve a centuries old riddle written by some ancient philosopher.

'So this is how it looks from the outside…' He muses as he watches Ruby think, her head no doubt already full of blueprints and schematics, metaphorical gears turning slowly in her brain.

Her head suddenly snaps up as her eyes take on a sharp, intelligent gleam to them. "Wait, what kind of ammo are you planning on using for this rifle anyway?"

"Something I've been working on. It's special, and… attuned to my Aura. Let's just say it's explosive."

"Is this connected to your Semblance? Wait, why not a rocket launcher then?"

"Yes, in a way. And rocket launchers are too… bulky, and the actual bullet is too small."

She furrows her brow and puts a hand to her chin as he also joins in on her thinking. After a few moments, she looks up and raises a finger with a smile.

"So how about this?"

At the cashier, the store's owner simply watched the two teens discuss about a new weapon that, frankly, sounded terrifying. Fifteen minutes later, the two walked up to him and asked if they could use his forge and weapon's table to craft the gun. He didn't even hesitate to agree.

A weapon that functioned with the accuracy of a sniper rifle, firing a bullet with the explosive power of a missile.

Those kinds of weapons aren't exactly uncommon, but made by the hands of CHILDREN?

If something like that was crafted with materials from his shop…

…fuck, that'd be a weapon worth plastering a photo of on the wall of his shop now, wouldn't it? It'd probably bring more business too!

* * *

By the time the two weapon freaks walked out of the store, it was most definitely night time, and Shirou knew his team was going to give him hell when he got back.

No matter how he justified his excursion, they were going to find some way to rib him about it, and most likely call him a hypocrite.

At the very least, Angra Mainyu would.

"Wow, it's been a while since I last spent THAT much time working on a weapon…" Ruby smiles, wiping her brow as she looks at the firearm currently strapped to her new companion's back. "But I'd say it was worth it! Last time I did a joint design on a weapon was when me and my uncle worked on Crescent Rose!"

And the joint design showed itself in how the rifle looked.

It was big, and a bit blocky for a rifle. It actually was currently folded in half, its full length reaching 6 feet and 10 inches, more than half of that taken up by the barrel alone.

Being a little nostalgic, Shirou decided the fundamental design would resemble the Type 97 Automatic Cannon from Japan, a firearm that was used in the early 1940s to battle enemy tanks until the ever evolving and improving war machines' armor rendered the gun useless, and eventually, obsolete.

Despite that, it still looked leagues more aesthetically pleasing compared to its inspiration. It was colored pitch black, the metal bearing a dark blue gloss to it, and it had multiple red lines similar to Magic Circuits lining the barrel. The actual ammo cartridge was far smaller than its inspiration, with only enough room for a single bullet, meaning this weapon would only fire one shot, and one shot only before he had to reload.

And at Ruby's insistence, the muzzle of the rifle had blades attached to it. Specifically, a blade similar to a halberd's, with one jutting out towards the front to stab and slash, and another under the muzzle that could be used as a pseudo sickle, and would also prop the gun up when he sets up the rifle to fire at something.

It also had a stamp on the side, in the form of Ruby's little rose emblem she has on her clothes, and Roman numerals (Apparently known as Ancient Mistralian numerals here) for the number Four stamped next to it. She'd been insistent to put his emblem on it (and mistook the red tattoo on his back for said emblem), and when he asked about why hers was there, she blushed and fidgeted, saying that since this was a joint design, both the weapon's parents should have their emblems together. And when he asked why his emblem wasn't just overlaid on top of hers to take up less space, she said that apparently, in many social circles, two emblems overlaid on each other was usually reserved for married couples.

Great. Just what he needed. A schoolgirl crush from an awkward weapon nut.

In any case, he'd used Structural Grasping multiple times on the gun, and recorded it and updated said recording in his Reality Marble dozens of times as they crafted the weapon… and he felt a modicum of pride.

He thought he'd lost all his pride long ago. It's an odd feeling.

But as he looked at his first original weapon, not at all a modified Noble Phantasm, he definitely felt it. Pride in his skills, in his creation, and a small amount of pride for Ruby for some odd reason. He almost felt human.

"So, what're you gonna name him?" Ruby smiles up at Shirou, watching him think to himself again.

"Hmm…" Shirou furrowed his brow. He could just name it after the Noble Phantasm this weapon was supposed to be able to fire… but that felt… off. The Noble Phantasm would be the bullet, not the gun…

…and the gun… was….

"Kiritsugu." He decided, the name spilling from his mouth before he could stop himself.

"Kerrytugu?" Ruby tilts her head, prompting a brief snort of laughter from the spiritually older male.

"No, Kiri-tsugu. Its technically two words. Kiri means 'Sever' or 'Cut', while Tsugu means 'Connect' or 'Bind'."

"That's a weird name to give an anti-tank rifle." Ruby giggles, before pausing at the somber look on Shirou's face.

"….it is.. but.. Kiritsugu was the name of my dad."

Just like that, Ruby froze and stared up with wide eyes.

"He was… he was something. He used to be a Huntsman once, I think, and he favored rifles and liberal use of explosives. He was more of a bounty hunter really…" Shirou chuckles darkly, the half-truths leaving his mouth, tasting like ash. "He… he saved my life, once upon a time, and then adopted me, after a great fire took my home… and my memories."

Emiya Shirou looks up at the night sky of Vale, the streets oddly empty as his eyes shut. "I have memory issues… sometimes I forget the things I'd done a week ago… and anything from years back… is lost from my memories forever… but the smile on his face when he found me alive, buried in the rubble.. as if I had saved him instead of the other way around… I'll never forget it."

Ruby watches as a wistful smile forms on Shirou's lips, before it turns grim.

"He said to me once, that he wanted to be a hero… but he failed because he grew too old.. stupid naïve me decided to take on his dream instead, to be the hero he could be… what an idiot I was." He scoffs, shaking his head. "I can't be a hero. I'm just a machine. I'm good at one thing, and that's… making weapons to kill. It's probably why he failed as well to be a hero… because it's not something machines like us can ever be."

"But he didn't fail."

Shirou turns to look at Ruby, her expression strange, conflicted, but firm.

"He didn't fail… because he saved you."

That sentence alone made Shirou's heart stop for a moment.

"Heroes save people… they can't save everyone… but they can save as many as they can. As long as they save just one person… they're heroes. He saved you, so he's a hero." Ruby's bottom lip quivers, her eyes glistening a little as if she was close to crying. "I-I want to be a hero too… I want to make the world a better place, by fighting monsters and helping people! I know that it's not that easy, and I won't be able to save everyone… Remnant's a scary place… but that's why we have to try, because people like us are here to make the world a better place! Saving one person at a time, killing one Grimm at a time!"

Ruby's silver eyes stare right into Shirou's yellow ones as she continues to talk, her voice resounding in his ears. "A-and you're not a machine! Machines don't smile! Machines don't have a sense of humor! Machines... machines are only machines if they let themselves be. You remember his smile because no matter what, he's still there, in your heart! You have a heart… so you're not a machine, right?"

Shirou stood there, a little stunned as Ruby's head lowered.

"I… when I was little, my mom was gone." She admitted, holding one of her arms. "I don't remember much about her. All I remember was the best cookies.. the best hugs… and this."

She reaches up to hold onto the edges of her hooded cloak.

"She gave me this. And even though she's gone… I visit her grave almost all the time… at least every week… and I know she's still here, in my heart. Just like your dad is in yours. You'll be a great hero. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, because I'm sure he believed in you, and so do I!"

Emiya Shirou stared down at Ruby Rose for a few seconds, unsure of what to do.

After a moment, he let out a brief laugh as his eyes closed.

"Look at me… laying my secrets bare to a stranger, and now we're pouring our hearts out like we've been friends for months. This is a weird night."

"H-hey, we made a weapon together, we're practically besties now!" She pouts, her hands on her hips as she scowls indignantly at him, prompting another laugh.

"Right… besties it is."

"Why'd you say it so sarcastically..?"

"It's fun to see you pout like a kid." Shirou chuckles and shakes his head. Ruby simply smiles and points at him.

"Aha! Machines don't have fun!"

"Right right, lay off already."

The two laugh for a bit before Ruby checks her Scroll for the time and then looks back up at him.

"So, I've still got time to go to a Dust shop to buy crystals and stuff. You wanna come?"

And strangely enough to Shirou, he did.

* * *

From Dust Till Dawn was a clever name for this place, and apparently it was open until 1 AM.

Then again, it seemed to double as a supermarket of some kind so that would explain the odd business hours. It had several racks of magazines, many types of Dust stored in various ways ranging from jars to vials, and a few Dust infused food items and condiments.

That can't be healthy, but it did make him curious enough to buy a Fire Dust Chili Sauce.

Oh he wasn't going to be tasting it. He'd lost his sense of taste a long, long time ago.

No, this was going to be poured into Angra Mainyu's next meal. All of it.

The former cooking enthusiast inside him would have been appalled by his plan to taint cooking with this, especially since there was even a warning label on the bottle that said to ingest this in small doses due to how hot it was on the Scoville scale.

1,480,000 units.

Shirou wasn't a religious man but even he couldn't stop the muttered 'Jesus Christ' from escaping his lips, before he immediately proceeded to pay for the sauce and slipped the bottle into one of the small compartments of his belt.

Still, the chef buried deep inside the darkest forgotten recesses of his soul might have been opposed, but the larger, pettier side of him argued that committing to this plan of action is for great justice.

Regardless, he found himself entering a comfortable routine with his new companion, as they both browsed the shelves for Dust crystals, and read through a few of the magazines, the conversation lulling as Ruby put on a pair of headphones (where the hell did those come from?) and started to listen to some rather loud and catchy music. She was an odd friend.

Yes, friend. As much as the pragmatic and ruthless part of him wanted to deny it, he had realized that rejecting the notion of friendship from her would be very difficult at this point.

He was changing. It was something he had noticed very quickly when he first awoke in this new body. He was more impulsive, easily angered, and his memory wasn't as _bad_ as before, though he still struggled to remember a lot of things any older than a week ago, sans specific memories that burned themselves into his mind, such as memories of Kiritsugu and….

….Saber.

A part of him was worried he would revert back into the same naïve and idealistic Emiya Shirou that barely survived the Fifth Holy Grail War, but he quelled that worry as quickly as it came. He was too far gone to return to THAT, but 'morality' of all things and emotions were starting to slowly filter back into his soul, and frankly, he found that unsettling.

Maybe if he was lucky, Angra Mainyu's actions might actually end up fixing his memory issue. Or even his sense of taste.

A part of him hoped that wouldn't be the case, simply so he doesn't have to owe the bastard anything. Just the thought of thanking him made him feel like biting a bullet.

His brow twitches when he hears a slight commotion from the cashier up at the front. He wasn't too sure, Ruby's headphones were blasting whatever music she was listening to at a volume loud enough that he could actually hear it despite the muffled quality.

"Hey, kids! Hands in the air!"

'You have got to be kidding me.' The Archer's brow twitches again as he slowly turns around to see some goon in a black suit and red tie, wearing ridiculous red sunglasses…

….sounds an awful lot like the guards that worked at that Junior guy's bar.

"I said hands in the air!" The nameless thug yells as he holds up a machete made of red steel. A brief narrowing of his eyes and Shirou immediately recorded the blade into his Reality Marble…. It wasn't very high quality, obviously a mass produced model from a custom line.

Shirou just rolls his eyes before tapping Ruby on the shoulder, breaking her out of her little reading session as she pulls the headphones off and looks at Shirou, then at the thug.

"Yes?"

"For the love of-I SAID hands in the air! Now! Freaking kids…" The man growls as he takes a few steps closer.

"Are you… robbing us?" Ruby blinks as Shirou sighs and flexes his fingers. Just their luck.

"Yes!"

"Ohhh…" The silver eyed girl trails off, before she starts to smile.

Whatever Shirou expected her to do next, booting the thug right in the gut and sending him flying all the way to other side of the shop was NOT it. In one quick use of her Semblance, she had burst into action, crossing the distance between her and the hired thug before sending her foot slamming right into his stomach, launching him through the air.

Shirou stared after Ruby, relatively stunned before he shook it off. Not the time for this.

"Hey!"

Another thug was heading right for them. Fantastic, just what they needed.

He didn't have to do anything it seemed, as Ruby simply rushed right towards him and performed what he could only describe as a dynamic exit out of the store, by leaping up and sending both her and the thug flying out the window with a kick, using him as a surfboard of sorts before she landed outside.

As Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose and stabbed the scythe into the asphalt with a flourish, Shirou immediately Traced his signature weapons. The familiar weight of Kanshou and Bakuya settled into his hands as he saw a man, who seemed to be the one leading this little robbery, ordering the goons to attack Ruby. He had bright orange hair, slightly brighter than his Master's, and wore what passed for a fancy suit in this world and a bowler hat with a feather.

He carried a cane, which Shirou immediately used his Structural Grasping on.

That wasn't just a cane. Melodic Cudgel. A combat cane with a surprising amount of ammunition room inside for explosive Dust bolts. It had a grappling hook installed in the cane's handle, and the material it was made of was something unusual and flexible, allowing it to deflect blades and bend to a certain degree without damaging any of the mechanisms inside.

It was a rather impressive weapon, all thing's considered. And now he knew the name of its wielder.

Roman Torchwick.

Great, at least he knows the name of the man he was about to beat into the dirt. Shirou wasn't sure if killing criminals was favored or not in this world yet, but seeing as he was a future student of Beacon, it'd be best not to risk it.

That being said… he could try to take out the man right now, but he didn't know how strong he actually was. Knowing what his weapon was capable of only told him half of what he needed, and that was that Roman Torchwick didn't fight that much, otherwise he would have much more installed into his cane. He was the kind to order and control, not lead into battle. He was less of a fighter and more of a performer.

'Ruby can handle this.' Shirou thought to himself as he takes a step backwards and begins to move towards one of the back entrances. 'I'll do what an Archer does, for once, and support from afar.'

* * *

"Honestly, pay a fortune for these idiots and they're getting their hinds handed to them by one girl?" Roman muttered as he clambered up the side of a building via a ladder. He just watched the mooks he hired from Junior, sorry, Hei Xiong, getting smacked around by some teenager late for bed with an oversized scythe.

Honestly, a scythe? Who did she think she was, the ScareQrow? The Grimm Reaper?

Either way, she was dim enough to get distracted by his shot, so now he just had to get to the rendezvous point and-

"Hey!"

"Persistent little-" Roman grit his teeth as he turned around to find that the brat actually managed to follow him in record time.

She must have used the recoil of that ridiculous scythe-gun to launch herself up onto the roof.

That was ridiculous.

"Give it up! There's nowhere to run!" Ruby exclaims as she holds her scythe at the ready. She didn't even aim the muzzle at him.

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm trying to 'run' anywhere!" The self-proclaimed criminal mastermind laughs, hearing the familiar hum of a Bullhead rising up to the side of the building, right behind him. He had to hold onto his hat to keep it from flying off from the aircraft's engines as a searchlight flashes to life, aimed right at Little Red's face, blinding her and giving him a chance to scamper right up into the side of the ship's cargo bay.

As he turned around, a Fire Dust crystal in hand, he idly wondered what led him to this point in life. Here he was, an infamous thief, about to use a Dust crystal to blow up and possibly either horribly injure or even kill some teenage girl playing hero. How the hell did he end up here?

Oh well, he chose which basket to put all his eggs in. Time to make an omelet.

"End of the line, Red!" Roman yells as he tosses the crystal right towards the still stunned Ruby, who was furiously rubbing her eyes with her sleeve, not noticing the red crystal clattering to the roof, right near her feet.

Pulling his cane out, he aimed right at the crystal…

…and fired.

Ruby's eyes were full of spots as she finally regained her vision, just in time to see the criminal with a nice hat fire a flare of red Dust right at her, only for someone to swoop right down in front of her and block the blast.

Her eyes focus and she sees that the blast had been blocked by a tall, blonde woman with a tattered cape and a riding crop in her right hand, a spherical purple shield of arcane glyphs spiraling in front of her extended fingers.

A Huntress! With some kind of… Gravity Dust spell from her riding crop? Or was that her Semblance?

Regardless, Ruby watches with awe as the woman adjusts her glasses nonchalantly before lashing out with the riding crop, sending a salvo of purple energy after the Bullhead, the blasts battering into the aircraft.

"So cool…" Ruby murmurs to herself.

She blinks when she feels her Scroll vibrate. Oh crud, was that Yang? This was a really bad time for a check-in…

Pulling her Scroll out to cancel the call, she sees that it's a number she doesn't recognize instead of her older sister being a worrywart.

Taking a gamble, she accepts the call and puts it to her ear.

"H-hello? Kinda busy!"

 _"Ruby, I need you to distract that Bullhead for just a little longer."_

"Shirou!? How did you get my number? W-wait, where were you!? I mean, I didn't really need your help since I'm pretty tough, and you didn't bring Kanshou and Bakuya as far as I know and Kiritsugu isn't really made for close range-"

 _"Structural Grasping on your Scroll, I left to get to a vantage point, and yes, I know, you're a tough girl. I'm taking up a position on one of the buildings so I can get a clear shot at the Bullhead. I'm loading in the special ammo, but it's going to take a bit of time. I need you to help Professor Goodwitch distract that Bullhead for a while longer."_

"Professor who? You mean the Huntress?"

She didn't get an answer as he hung up in the middle of her question, making her pout for a moment before she pockets her scroll and activates Crescent Rose's rifle mode, aiming it at the Bullhead and starting to fire and support the Huntress, who was now making tendrils of rubble and shrapnel whip at the Bullhead.

It was all going well, until a figure cloaked in the shadows of the aircraft's cargo hold let loose a massive wave of heat, obliterating the rubble, and any bullets Ruby fired.

Ruby couldn't help but gawk at that, her moment of distraction almost getting her injured as she fails to notice the molten glow under her feet.

She yelps as the Huntress yanks her out of the way of the circles of heat telekinetically, the both of them narrowly dodging a ring of explosions.

"Owie…" Ruby groans as she gets up in time to catch a glimpse of the shadowed figure in the Bullhead. It was a woman wearing a red dress of some kind with glowing sigils lining her clothes, her eyes a molten and menacing orange that glowed in the darkness, before the Bullhead's side door shuts as the vehicle takes off.

"No no no, they're getting away!" Ruby exclaims as she lifts her weapon up to try and fire at the aircraft, before the Huntress just pushes it down with her riding crop.

"Unless your weapon has armor piercing rounds, you might as well be throwing rocks at it. We have no choice but to let them go for now." The blonde woman sighs, clearly displeased, either with the situation, or Ruby.

The red hooded girl tries to say something, anything to show that they should at least TRY to pursue, only for her eyes to catch sight of something on one of the rooftops several blocks away.

On the roof of what might have been a hotel, Shirou was leaning over the side of the building with Kiritsugu propped up, the anti-tank rifle trained on the Bullhead.

The Huntress, Glynda, turns to follow Ruby's line of sight, her eyes widening briefly.

"Shirou Emiya..? What is he doing here?"

"You know him? H-he went shopping with me and we made a weapon together, it's a heavy caliber anti-tank rifle made to handle heavy explosive ammo!" Ruby smiles as she realizes that there's a chance the Bullhead won't get away, even though it was drawing further up into the air.

Her silver eyes focus on Shirou, specifically his mouth as she realizes he's… talking to himself?

* * *

Shirou wasn't quite sure how this would work. Ideally, the principle of altering another Noble Phantasm even further into a projectile was something that he could handle fine. He's done this before.

Kanshou and Bakuya being turned into gunblades that can merged together and become a twinbladed polearm was different. He had to change so many things with that, altering and reconstructing almost every single fundamental part of the Married Blades to make them into the Married Guns.

But this, this was more along his wheelhouse. He was simply applying his newfound proficiency with firearms and bullets, into an old success.

 **"My Core is twisted in Madness…"** He mutters as he Traces an old favorite.

And then, he alters it even further than it already is, reducing its size, making it compact, just the right size to fit in the chamber of his new rifle. Compressing such a powerful Noble Phantasm into something so small made it ridiculously fragile. If he wasn't careful, it would blow up before it even leaves the muzzle of Kiritsugu.

And yet, despite his concerns, he finds that he was managing it, though the drain on his Prana was ridiculous. The bullet was traced, a blue and gold spiral form. It was less like a bullet…

…and more like a drill.

Loading it into the ammo cartridge and slotting it into the rifle, he takes aim.

The Bullhead was high up in the air, high enough and far enough that if the wreckage came down….

…well, there would be no casualties from civilians at least. It was flying right over the slums…

….nobody important would die in this attack.

The minority die so the majority may live. That's how it has always been.

His finger settles on the trigger.

His breath stops.

His reticle follows the Bullhead….

…and…

 **"Caladbolg, Mk. 3!"**

He pulls the trigger, and the crack of thunder echoes throughout the city block.

* * *

"Well, that was a bit of a bust." Roman mutters as he pilots the Bullhead, flying it up and away from the exfiltration point. He could hear Cinder huffing in the cargo hold, no doubt displeased.

Eh, screw her. If she wanted better results, she should have parked this damn thing closer-

-what was that sound?

His eyes widen when he sees a bright red light soaring right towards them, and he tries to swerve the Bullhead out of the way.

Something collides with the side of the aircraft, and he hears a deafening blast as his forehead slams into the controls, his Aura going straight into the red as he feels heat, intense heat all around him, broken glass cutting across his body.

The last thing he can even perceive before he blacks out is a horrifying scream of agony coming from the cargo hold of the ship.

* * *

Ruby had to cover her ears the moment she saw Shirou pull the trigger, as a loud crack sounds out, steam visibly rushing from the exhaust vents of the rifle as she sees a bright red streak of light scream through the sky.

Within seconds, the light reaches the Bullhead, the vehicle trying to swerve away and dodge the bullet, only for the projectile to impact with the side of the hull.

Ruby's eyes bugged out as she saw a massive explosion engulf the side of the Bullhead, obliterating one of its wings and sending the now crippled aircraft spiraling down through the air and crashing somewhere in the slums of Vale.

"D-did… did Shirou just…"

She didn't want to say Kill. She really didn't want to associate her new friend with that word.

But there's no denying that whatever bullet he just used, it most definitely killed someone in that shot.

"Snap out of it!"

"E-eep!" Ruby yelps as the Huntress lightly whacks her on the shoulder with the riding crop.

"I know that must seem shocking, but remember that those were criminals who attempted to do the same to us. While outright murdering criminals is in poor taste, it happens sometimes and cannot be avoided. This is the reality of how Huntsmen and Huntresses fight. It isn't always Grim that have to be taken down. Sometimes, it is people. Just do not think about it for now. You still have to worry about yourself after all."

"I-I do?" Ruby murmurs.

"Yes, after all, you ARE a child, without a Huntress license, getting involved with a robbery without alerting the authorities."

"Crud."

"Indeed." Glynda's lips quirk upwards before she shakes her head with a sigh. "Come, let us collect Mister Emiya and be on our way to the police station where I will take your statement there."

"O-oh yeah, how do you know him anyway?" Ruby asks as she follows the older woman towards the ladder.

"He is a future student at Beacon Academy. That is all I can say on the matter."

"Shirou's going to Beacon? I knew he would be a good hero…" Ruby smiles, before faltering as she remembers what she just saw.

Sometimes, heroes had to get their hands dirty. She knew that. She hated that, but she knew it. Uncle Qrow was her hero, and he had to get his hands dirty all the time, according to his own words. It's why he's always out there, working and being cool when he isn't teaching at Signal. He does things that nobody else can.

But she also knows that heroes shouldn't ever enjoy getting their hands dirty.

So…

…why was Shirou smiling after he fired that gun…?

* * *

"Were it up to me, you would be going home with a pat on the back…" Glynda started, waiting for the hopeful look to form on Ruby's face.

The moment the expression flickered onto the girl's visage, Glynda's eyes narrowed. "And a slap on the wrist."

A whack of the riding crop to the table immediately sent Ruby scurrying further into her seat nervously, while Shirou rolled his eyes subtly.

Perhaps she has been reading too much of that blasted Ninjas of Love series. She never used to derive any enjoyment from this.

"Honestly, engaging a well-known criminal without calling for support…" The blonde teacher sighs, shaking her head before she cocks her head at the door of the interrogation room. "Regardless of my feelings however, someone is here to see you both."

As she stepped to the side, Ozpin walked in with a plate of cookies, which Ruby immediately set her sights on.

"Ruby Rose." The headmaster drawled out before he leaned towards the young girl, peering at her. "You… have silver eyes."

"U-umm.." Ruby murmured, staring up at him in confusion as he straightened up and set the cookies down.

"And of course, Shirou Emiya, good to see you again. I trust your little excursion in Vale was enjoyable?" Ozpin turns to smile at Shirou, who simply huffs.

"You could say that."

"I see. That is good to hear." The older man chuckles, before he sits down at the table, turning to look at Ruby… and an empty plate.

"So, where did you learn to do this?" He asks as he pulls out his Scroll and shows a recording of Ruby's fight from the view of a few traffic cameras.

"S-Signal Academy?" Ruby stuttered for a moment, before she turned to look at Shirou, who simply raised a brow in response. Finding a bit more confidence in what she mistook as a sign of support from him, she turned back to Ozpin and nodded. "Signal Academy, I got taught how to use a scythe by my Uncle Qrow who taught there."

"Ah, of course. Dusty old Qrow. I thought as much." Ozpin smiles before he interlaces his fingers together. "Well, he clearly taught you well. Still a student at Signal Academy and you already outclass a few freshman students a year your senior."

"Wellll, I'm not THAT great…" The silver eyed girl blushes and waves Ozpin off, giggling a bit. "I just train a lot!"

"It shows. I have an offer for you, Miss Rose. Do you know who I am?"

"You're Professor Ozpin, the headmaster at Beacon! Everyone knows who you are!"

"Indeed. I will make this brief since I have a long night ahead of me, and I am sure you are both tired. Would you like to study at my school?"

"WOULD I!?" Ruby squeals as she stands up for a moment, before composing herself after receiving a stern look from Glynda and hearing Shirou snort for a moment with amusement. "E-erm, I mean, yeah, more than anything!"

"Well, that's that then. I will see you both at Beacon Academy." Ozpin smiles, chuckling as Ruby begins to dance around the room a little with joy.

Ah, children.

* * *

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you at school then…" Ruby smiles as she stands in front of Shirou outside the police station, waiting for Yang to arrive. Professor Goodwitch had apparently called her dad before they entered the station, and the man decided to send Yang over on Bumblebee to pick her up.

Great, Yang was gonna be asking details all the way home.

"Guess so. Seems we'll get to talk shop a lot more in the future." Shirou hums, his words eliciting a brighter smile from his new friend.

"Yeah! It'll be great! And then I can finally see what Kanshou and Bakuya can do up close!"

"I'm sure you will." He chuckles before he turns around and starts to walk off to follow a patiently waiting Ozpin and Glynda. "See you later, Ruby Rose."

As Ruby watches Shirou's broad back slowly move further and further off, she bites her lip.

"U-umm, Shirou!"

"Hm?"

Briefly, Shirou stops and turns his head to look at Ruby over his shoulder. The pale girl fidgets for a moment, seemingly unable to find the words to say, before she clenches her fists and just smiles.

"You'll be a great hero, okay?"

The former Counter Guardian stares at her in confusion for a few seconds before he gives her a small, genuine smile, nodding. "So will you."

With that, he walks off, the cool night air blowing his waistcoat about as Ruby stares after him.

"So cool… oh God, Yang is gonna tease me so much if I tell her about him…."

* * *

"It seems you have made a new friend, Mister Emiya." Ozpin comments offhandedly as they board the Bullhead that will take them back to Beacon.

"Guess so. She's got a pure, infectious aura of some kind." Shirou shrugs, taking a seat and strapping himself in as the two Professors mimic his actions, seating themselves across from him.

"Indeed, Miss Rose is quite pure. I only pray she can keep that innocence as she learns the harsh truths of this world." The bespectacled man hums, his hands on the top of his walking stick.

"Hm." Shirou hums, crossing his arms as he leans back against his seat, his new rifle put into its compact form, folded in half and currently resting on the seat next to him. "So what's so special about silver eyes?"

"Ah, you caught that, did you?"

"Hard to miss when you say it the way you did."

Ozpin chuckles and shakes his head. "Merely an observation, I assure you. There are very old legends that people with silver eyes were supposed to be nigh-indomitable slayers of Grimm. As an avid reader of those kinds of stories, I couldn't help but say that."

"I see." Shirou's eyes narrow a little. Something was off about that statement…

"But putting that aside, let us talk about how you apparently knocked a Bullhead out of the sky with a so-called 'experimental explosive bullet'."

The Archer groaned under his breath when he heard that.

Great. Just… great.

* * *

"E-erm, Mistress, I have a report to give." A man known as Arthur Watts said nervously as he entered the meeting room of his leader, the most fearsome individual he has ever known.

"Oh? Speak, Arthur." Salem hummed, her hands folded behind her back as she stares out the window of her palace, gazing at the lands of darkness, watching the Grimm being born from the various different pools.

"Well… it is about Cinder."

Seated at a long table, a deranged man known as Tyrian began to cackle. "Oohoohoo! Has she messed up somehow? Has she disgraced the name of our glorious leader?"

Watts grimaces a little. "She has been… critically injured."

Silence rings throughout the room as Salem ever so slowly turns around, her eyes narrowed. "What?"

"How did that happen?" A towering man of pure muscle by the name of Hazel murmured, his gaze fixed on Watts.

"She was in the process of securing more Dust to help ensure her plan for blowing a hole in Vale's walls would succeed… but the Bullhead she was in was shot out of the sky."

"By what?" Now Salem's tone was utterly frosty.

"From the security footage I managed to obtain, a teenage boy with an anti-tank rifle."

"A brat managed to injure Cinder with a big gun?" Tyrian's expression was an odd mixture between being amused, joyful, and flummoxed. "Where is she now? She's not dead?"

"No, as I said, she has been critically injured. After the Bullhead crashed into the slums of Vale, the pilot, an infamous thief by the name of Roman Torchwick, managed to drag her out of the wreckage and bring her back to his base of operations. She is badly wounded, suffering from heavy third degree burns on most of the left side of her body, including her face, as well as missing her left arm in its entirety."

"The arm I specifically had a that parasite rooted in… I will need to make a new one now…" Salem muttered as she huffed. "Fine. Hazel, I want you to go to Vale and retrieve Cinder for me."

"Will we be changing the plan, ma'am?" Hazel queried as he slowly stood up.

"No, the plan remains the same for now. You will inform this Roman Torchwick of that and offer him ample compensation, which Watts will handle. We just need to ensure that Cinder heals fully so she can carry it out. I will have to get…. Creative."

Every single man in that room shuddered internally at that.

"Then, by your leave, ma'am." Hazel bowed, waiting for Salem to dismiss him. Seeing her nod, he turns around and walks right out the door.

"Watts. Have you managed to learn anything about this… boy who managed to harm Cinder so?" The immortal witch asks as she starts to turn back to face the window once more.

"Not much, he isn't registered in any of the databases, but the street cameras saw him entering a Bullhead with Ozpin-"

The window cracks, making Watts and Tyrian flinch as Salem grits her teeth, eyes narrowing.

"Of course…." Salem mutters, barely restraining her rage. "Of course it all comes back to him…"

Sensing the mounting anger, Watts and Tyrian promptly excuse themselves and leave the room, leaving Salem to stew in her anger alone.

The witch growls silently, before calming herself.

It didn't matter.

Ozpin... Ozma didn't matter anymore.

Not when there was someone else out there who was worth much more interest.

The Queen of Grimm smiles slightly as she looks out at the Grimm pools, particularly one that births a Seer.

"Perhaps I should finally make contact with him…"

* * *

 _Ooooooooh, what's she planning? Who knows!_

 _Anyway, wow, 105 reviews for this story. I'm really happy to see that._

 _I've been trying to work through some personal stuff lately, feeling really, really upset with myself because of... personal reasons, but knowing that people like this story, among other things, makes me happy. I REALLY hope I got this version of Shirou down right. Shirou Emiya is always a bit of a complex character to write, especially if its one of the EMIYA counterparts._

 _I hope my explanations for his usage of his Structural Grasping and his Projection were satisfactory. There's a hard limit on Shirou since he can't properly project swords right anymore, and his Reality Marble now being condensed into his own Origin bullet._

 _Hopefully the reveal of Caladbolg Mk.3 was nice! I always thought that, if he can make Kanshou and Bakuya into guns, then he must be able to make others into bullets or guns as well, right?_

 _And yes, even Shirou isn't safe from pouring out his feelings to a member of team RWBY. But c'mon, Ruby's got that sort of presence that just makes you feel honest, right?_

 _Anyway, remember, there is a poll up on the first Servant you see from the rest of Gudako's team in the story! Currently, the Ruler class is in the lead, which is actually really shocking, I actually didn't expect it. And as you know, voting ends when I roll in the New Year Gacha, which is on Tuesday! 1_ _st_ _of January, 2019!_

 _Speaking of which, finding out that the Guaranteed 5 Star Gacha for New Years is only going to consist of Limited Servants has made me super stressed. Because now I'm worried I'll end up summoning a duplicate Servant, or worse, a Servant I really don't want. Like… Nero Bride. Ugh._

 _As long as I get a Servant I don't have, I'll be happy. Especially if it's from one of the Extra Classes. I failed to summon Qin Shi Huang when he came out before, and God DAMN IT, I WANT PEACOCK LELOUCH._

 _And no, that was not in any way a hint or a reveal on who the Ruler Servant on Gudako's team is._

 _Or was it?_

 _Dun dun dun._

 _Anyhow, as always, thanks for reading. See you in the next chapter, whenever that comes out. The title for the next chapter is Dust to Dust._

 _And the naming scheme for the past few chapters has been from a Linkin Park song. There, I said it._


	6. Dust To Dust

_So, failed to get Chloe Einzbern to NP5. Only managed to get her to NP2, but at least I maxed her out to level 80. Was hoping this would be the second special event with missions I've completed to the max. The first event where I completed ALL the missions and got all the charity 4 star Servant's copies was the Kara no Kyoukai event. I am still so fucking proud that I got Shiki maxed out._

 _Anyhow, final chapter before we start the beginning of Beacon academy. Sorry for slow updates, I'm going through rough patches and mental hurdles. I've got too many ideas yet not enough energy or motivation to write them down, and honestly, depression is a bitch, and so is insomnia._

 _Also, Jesus, Ruler class won the 'next servant from Gudako's roster to appear' poll by a fucking landslide. Welp, not like the Ruler will be appearing for a long while anyway._

 _Anyway, lets get to the chapter. I'll warn you right now, unlike the other chapters, this one will NOT feature a member of team RWBY, because as far as I know and recall, Weiss is probably still in Atlas at this point, because I don't really see her staying at a hotel in Vale. Not with all that Dust she was carrying. And Angra Mainyu sure as hell ain't gonna be teleporting all the way over there._

 _Also apparently Atlas is like… a floating island city above another city? That sounds like a MASSIVE amount of casualties is gonna be coming in the next volume of RWBY. Like, JESUS. If Watts and Tyrian are going to Atlas to mess with Ironwood, I just know that floating citadel is gonna come crashing down._

 _Right, lets get on with this. Showtime!_

* * *

 _Chapter Six: Dust to Dust._

* * *

 _Who was he?_

 _He was nothing._

 _He had no name, no body, no face. He was nothing. Nobody. Just a phantom. A wraith._

 _Yet he existed. He existed because he was Sin. He was Evil. The root of it all. All of mankind's ugly, disgusting crimes against life, he bore all of it on his skin like a tattoo._

 _Every crime, every sin, every horror that humanity created and committed to each other._

 _He knew all of it. He saw all of it. He experienced all of it._

 _And yet…_

 _…he was strangely happy._

 _As the world faded and shattered away in bright colorful lights fading into dark, like stained glass blasted away by a hurricane, he remembered two faces._

 _A maroon haired woman with matching eyes and a dark suit._

 _A white haired nun with yellow eyes and a witty, blunt disposition that made him hunger for her so…_

 _Two bonds he managed to forge. Bonds that he forged as someone else at first, then slowly, his true self became known to them._

 _No matter what, he will remember them. Their smiles. Their laughs. The annoyed looks they would give him.  
_

 _He will remember that despite everything, Angra Mainyu was able to make someone happy by being himself. By doing something selfless._

 _And so, he faded into the darkness once more, breaking the endless days._

 _And he descended back into his hollow world._

* * *

 _Bright lights that spiraled and cascaded down. A contract being formed._

 _A summoning._

 _In the shadows of the summoning chamber, All the World's Evils slowly awakened._

 _So some poor sap actually summoned him._

 _Their loss._

 _His black eyes adjusted to the light of the room, and he saw a girl, ginger haired and wide amber eyes, staring at him in with a slack jaw._

 _He grinned toothily, a hand on his hip._

 _"Yo! Sorry to say, but you just summoned the weakest Servant in the world. The Heroic Spirit Avenger has answered your call!"_

 _His declaration was met by complete silence in the room._

 _Actually, there was nobody else in the room except for the orange haired girl._

 _"I-I didn't think it'd actually work…" The girl mutters, her hands on either side of her face. "I-I just dicked around and tried to summon a Servant without Doctor Roman and anyone else activating the summoning system… I-I didn't think I'd actually summon anything…"_

 _She summoned him on ACCIDENT!?_

 _Somehow, that just made Avenger burst out laughing as he hunched over._

 _"Well, you got shit luck then Master! I'm literally worthless! Guess that'll teach you to summon without supervision!"_

 _"God damn it!" Gudako stomps her foot, growling, before she suddenly smirks. "Well tough shit mister. I still summoned you without any help, so that means we're literally meant for each other. I'm gonna drag you wherever the hell I go now! To the frontlines with you!"_

 _"Pfft, sure ya will." Avenger shrugs, grinning widely as he stares at his new Master… before slowly realizing she wasn't backing down. "O-oi, you're joking, right? I'm like, really weak, you're not seriously gonna stick me on the frontlines, right?"_

 _The girl responds with the biggest, toothiest, cockiest shit eating grin he'd ever seen, before she turns around and starts to walk out of the summoning chamber. "C'mon, I'm gonna introduce you to everyone else! Hey, Doctor Roman! Rits! I summoned a Servant unsupervised!"_

 _"Oi, get back here!"_

 _As he chased after the laughing girl, he couldn't help but grin._

 _This might be fun._

 _He was sure of it._

* * *

For once, Angra Mainyu wasn't feeling so sure about himself.

How could he, with the sight in front of him, and the sound of a heart monitor filling the room?

"Heya babe." The tattooed Servant murmured as he sat down on the right side of the hospital wing's bed, staring at his comatose Master.

Her arms were covered in bandages, her face still sporting a number of angry red veins rising up from her neck, but she looked a little better. Her hair was starting to regain its burnt orange luster, so that was good. An oxygen mask covered her mouth, and she had a number of wires and IV drips attached to her in various places.

Slowly, Avenger reached forward and gently grasped his Master's right hand, thumb tracing over her Command Seals.

"Man, you look like shit Gudako…" He chuckled wistfully, his tattoos slowly darkening, along with his face and clothes until he's completely enveloped in shadows, before his shape began to round out and become nothing but a mere silhouette of a human form, almost a stick man, without fingers, features, or anything defining at all, showing his true form. Just a barely formless being that bears a slight resemblance to a human.

He didn't get to enter this form that often in public since it made him hard to see, unrecognizable, and because Gudako liked his tattoos, but when they were completely alone with each other, he found himself able to show his true form more often without any sort of discomfort.

"You really got fucked up… maybe if I was a stronger Servant I'd have been able to help you better." He hums, receiving no response as he keeps his hold on Gudako's hand. The room was silent save for the beeping of the heart rate monitor. "Me and the other three idiots are gonna be students here for a while. Hopefully you wake up soon so we can figure out what to do next. Dunno where the rest of the team is but they're all tough. Should be fine. Some of them are probably already trying to find you…"

He had no idea if that was true of course. They were all definitely monsters in their own regard but Tiamat's Primordial Sea was a different beast altogether. For all he knew, most of them were dead, or worse, corrupted just like Ushiwakamaru.

Angra Mainyu grimaced, holding Gudako's hand a little tighter.

He had no love for the others. Hell, he barely had any sort of camaraderie with them. He was All the World's Evils after all. It was only natural for something like him to dislike residents of said world.

But Gudako cared about them, and just from being around her, he could build himself a facsimile of emotions resembling care towards his fellow Servants.

They weren't the only Servants Gudako has, but they were the ones she trusted above all others. In a place like Chaldea, there would always be one Servant that is trusted more than the others.

That Fujimaru kid had that Mashu girl.

Gudako had Angra Mainyu.

"Hang tight Gudako…" Angra Mainyu murmured as he squeezed Gudako's hand harder before letting go as he stood up, his body regaining definition and color. "You're gonna be just fine."

As he walked out, he failed to notice the smallest upturn of the comatose Magus' lips.

* * *

The Avenger walked through the Emerald Forest blindly, not really picking a direction to walk in, simply strolling about mindlessly.

Normally he'd nap when he felt restless, but seeing as he just got kicked out of the team's bedroom, he might as well spend his time breathing in the fresh air.

His cheek throbbed a little, a slight bruise forming from the latest fight he had with Emiya.

This team was ridiculous. They had zero cohesion and until Gudako woke up, they were gonna be incapable of any sort of team work.

Although, this time, Emiya's anger was….

Justified.

* * *

 _"How are we supposed to combat them if we are just barely Heroic Spirits!?" Shirou Emiya growled, fists clenched, his newest weapon currently laying across his bed._

 _"Look, just calm down already! For all we know, they're probably dead!" The Avenger huffed, arms crossed as he glared up at the Archer, who simply scoffed, the veins in his forehead popping._

 _"My memory may be terrible but even I remember that we thought Ushiwakamaru had died as well. Look how that turned out! Tiamat made copies of her! COPIES! Each one capable of utilizing her Noble Phantasm! What do we do if the same thing happened to the rest of the team!?"_

 _Emiya leans closer and hisses as he covers the side of his mouth, briefly glancing at a concerned Lancelot. "What do we do if SHE becomes like Ushiwakamaru?"_

 _The Avenger grimaced, the worst case scenario flashing through his head. "Look, you have a point, but I literally can't do anything about it! I can't feel where they are, and that's even IF they survived!"_

 _"You know damn well at least some of them would have survived Tiamat's power. And that's the concerning part, because the ones who would have survived that would be a nightmare to deal with if they end up even the slightest bit corrupted." Emiya yells, clenching his fists harder. "And I don't know about you, but we can barely handle a Foreigner at full power, let alone like this."_

 _The rest of the room flinched at that memory._

 _A Foreigner._

 _An odd class of Servant that Chaldea wasn't even aware existed until by chance of a glitch in the summoning system, one was summoned by Gudako._

 _And she was NOT something that could be fought on a whim. Not even Lancelot, who had no clue what a Foreigner was due to his blurred and blocked off memories from his time as a Berserker, could completely forget the memories of a massive limb grasping him and then proceeding to hurl him with enough force to leave a knight shaped hole in one of Chaldea's reinforced walls._

 _"Again, point taken, but what the fuck do you want me to do?"_

 _"Tell me the truth." Emiya growled, his pale yellow eyes smoldering with intense irritation._

 _"What truth!?"_

 _"You know what I mean. You may be a fool, but not with your own powers. Out of most Servants, you know exactly what your limits are. And unlike most others, I'm not as easily fooled. There is no way you wouldn't have been able to notice whether or not you pulled any of the others with us. Not when a Reality Marble is involved, especially if you were being powered by the Greater Grail, even if it was in Fuyuki. So tell me this."_

 _The Archer's eyes narrow, and for a brief moment, Angra Mainyu felt the same flash of fear he felt when Kiritsugu decided to destroy the Grail, rather than use it._

 _It was a very brief feeling._

 _"How many of the other Servants came with us? And how many of them are dead?"_

 _Silence filled the room as the resident Assassin, Berserker and Archer stared at the Avenger, awaiting an answer, before Angra Mainyu finally sighed and looked away._

 _"All of them."_

 _"ALL OF THEM!?" Surprisingly, it was Cursed Arm who spoke up in shock, startling Lancelot who nearly jumped off his bed from the sudden noise. "ALL of the other Servants were pulled into this world with us? The entire team?"_

 _"Yyyyyyep." Angra Mainyu grimaced._

 _"And how many are dead..?" Lancelot murmured his question, despite having little memory of who the team consisted of due to his insanity as a Berserker Servant._

 _A beat passed, before the tattooed Servant laughs nervously._

 _"Ermm… yeahhh, so I don't think any of them actually… died."_

 _Instantly, the Avenger found a fist to his cheek, and then felt himself slamming against the other side of the room._

 _"You could have told us this, FROM THE START!" Emiya yelled out, trying his best to resist conjuring Kanshou to empty a clip into the source of his ire. "We could have made plans, done something, ANYTHING! Now we have God knows how many Servants in this world with us, ALIVE, we have no plans to deal with them, the school term starts tomorrow so we cannot plan properly then, and we don't even know if those Servants are sane or not! Do you enjoy keeping things from us or something!? Is pissing me off that much of a hobby!?"_

 _"If the entire team survived, that means we have six Servants besides us in this world. Some of them might be able to blend in, but most of them will have a hard time trying not to stick out like sore thumbs. And you know very well that our resident Rider blends in about as well as an elephant amidst a herd of sheep." Cursed Arm Hassan huffed, his mask tilted downwards, highlighting the scowl on its skull shaped features as he taps a finger on the side of his bed's wooden frame. "Saber, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Ruler, and Foreigner. Six Servants, of which at least half could cause massive catastrophes if they are corrupted."_

 _In total, that was ten Servants that Gudako had brought with her to Babylon. Normally, it would be highly difficult for one Master to coordinate with that many Servants, however Gudako was a firm believer in 'overkill', and as such she brought as many as her body would allow her to command at once._

 _"And assuming these Servants weren't transformed like we were upon entering this world… That means they are genuine Heroic Spirits and will have access to their full power. We would barely be able to combat with one of them, let alone six." Emiya growls as he straightens up and looks towards Cursed Arm. "We're in a bad situation and have no way to confirm otherwise unless our Master wakes up soon and communicates with them through the bond, or uses her Command Seals to call the whole lot of them to us, which would be risky regardless."_

 _"We would need to have precautionary measures… for each and every single one of them…" The Hasashin sighs, hunching over in exasperation._

 _"Well… I.. still do not remember exactly who else was on our team… or what a Foreigner is.. could I have a refresher?" Lancelot raises his hand nervously._

 _"You will not like this, but fine. For starters we have our Saber, who was-where did he go?" Cursed Arm's head snapped to the other side of the room, catching the attention of the other two as they too looked._

 _The Avenger was gone._

 _"Coward." Emiya grunts._

* * *

So he pulled a bitch move and escaped before they could yell at him some more, big whoop, he's always been more of an Assassin, fighting like a coward is kind of how he works.

Still, he got it. He gets it. They were pissed because he didn't tell them that they were most definitely NOT alone in this world.

The reasons why he didn't tell them were just as simple though.

He was a liar at heart.

It was easier for him to lie out of a situation and make it seem less serious, than own up to the truth. And he also may have forgotten to tell them.

Could you blame him? He was damn worried about Gudako. Fuck the other Servants.

"Great, rambling in my head again…" The Avenger mutters as he walks into a cave, ignoring the drawings painted on the rocks outside as he waltzes right in.

This looked like a good enough place to chill in for an hour or two before heading back. Hopefully by then, the others will have fallen asleep.

Or hey, he could just sleep in here. It's not like it'd be that hard to climb right back up that cliff to the school.

…..though… it was a little strange that he hasn't seen a single Grimm.

Actually, it was VERY strange. He could sense them at all.

Except for one that was… very close.

Too close.

"Okay, I know damn well I'm not alone in here." Angra Mainyu mutters out loud as he summons his Fang Grinders into his hands.

 **"How astute."**

"What the fu-"

Immediately, he caught sight of a… floating… orb thing, with tentacles.

It was a Grimm for sure, and he could see that its round head, or main body, was faintly glowing in the dark.

 **"Greetings… my destined one."**

"….I've seen enough of Gudako's porn to know where this is going…" The Avenger mutters as he raises a brow. "Whoever the fuck is speaking right now... You're not a Grimm, are you?"

 **"No, I am not. I am so much more than that. Currently, I am communicating with you through this Seer. Do place your hand on its head so we may… converse properly. After all, I am sure you are a little disconcerted, simply talking to this Grimm."** A cultured, female voice spoke out, from the Grimm's body.

"A little, yeah, it is a little freaky…" The tattooed Servant nodded, before slowly dismissing Tawrich and lifting a hand up gingerly. "Alright… just so you know, if this is a trap, I will definitely find a way to mess you up in all sorts of ways."

 **"I wouldn't expect any less~"**

"Hate it when people talk like that…" He huffs, before placing his palm flat on the Seer's head.

* * *

He blinks, and suddenly he stands within a white void, across from a pale, dark clothed woman.

He couldn't deny her beauty, despite her inhuman features. Her pale white skin and hair, along with her blood red eyes surrounded by black sclera definitely made for an intimidating sight, as well as the red veins lining parts of her skin. Her hair was done in an interesting bun that had a bit of a…. spider-esque look to it, with the pins in her hair. She wore a long, inky black dress with short but voluminous sleeves and a cape of some kind draped down her back.

She was kind of hot actually.

And like he did whenever faced with an attractive woman, he made that fact known with a classic, crass wolf whistle. "Damn. Evil 'does' always look sexier than good."

The woman's brow quirked upwards, her lips forming a smirk as she chuckles. "I see you are quite the crass one. Not exactly what I expected from someone as dark in soul as you… though not entirely unwelcome."

"What can I say, I'm full of surprises!" The Avenger laughs, shrugging, before realizing his hands weren't tattooed. Looking at them, he sees that he was back in his true form, black, barely shaped like a human. "Huh. So what, is this a mindscape or something?"

"Of a sorts. Seers are telepathic Grimm capable of projecting my image across great distances for communication. But I can also use them like this, for far more… private, conversations." The pale woman nods as she begins to walk towards him, almost gliding as he can barely see her legs move.

"That's all interesting… but why me?" He tilts his head, eyeing her form warily. "As much as I love getting attention from gorgeous ladies… even scary ones like yourself… I don't think this is a booty call."

"It could be, in the future." She hums, coming to a stop roughly a foot from the Avenger.

"Okay, definitely wasn't expecting that response…" He murmurs. "Who are you, exactly? I can tell you're not human… or maybe, not human anymore? If you can control the Grimm, you must be something beyond human now."

"You are indeed correct, I am no longer human.. I myself am not sure what I qualify as… although perhaps, you could call me a Goddess?" She chuckles, her hands folded in front of her lap. "My name is Salem… and I am like you, in a sense."

"Like me?" His head tilts further before a white void opens up where his mouth would be, forming a wide smile. "Really now? You mean that literally, or…?"

"Literally, for the most part… I too despise humanity." She hums, lips quirking upwards further. "The two of us… we hate humanity with every fiber of our being… because humanity is twisted and broken, no? It is responsible for why we are the way we are... beings of darkness and hate... beings of evil."

Angra Mainyu watches as Salem starts to circle around him.

"Humans are a damaged species, with no capabilities for true unity… not like my Grimm, who are all united in a single purpose. Did you know that Grimm, despite not being able to reproduce, can have families? Small communities in which they band together. It is all mainly instinctual and pragmatic, but they still form semblances of bonds despite being born for one purpose. They do not judge each other, they simply life and do as they see fit. And yet you look at humans, who also build families and communities, and all you see is corruption, mindless arguments, and discrimination."

At some point, the Avenger just sat down on the ground, tired of turning around to follow the woman's movement, yet she continued on anyway for a few moments before she too sat in front of him demurely.

"Humans are a blight upon this world… the Faunus less so, but they are barely any better. I despise humans for a multitude of reasons, many of which are not connected to each other… but I hate them all the same. Almost as much as I despise the Gods."

That got Angra Mainyu's attention. So this world had Gods, hmm? He didn't read anything about that in any of the magazines he saw, besides brief mentions of 'Brothers' and some scant few mentions of 'Oum' or something.

"The Gods are just as flawed, and humans were made in one of the Brothers' image. What does that say about a God, who makes such a flawed creation?"

"It kinda says he's either compensating for something, or humans just grew way beyond whatever he thought they were capable of?" He hazards a guess, causing the woman to chuckle again.

"I suppose that's as good an answer as any…"

"Alright, not that it wasn't fun watching you walking around in that tight dress and talking about why you hate humans… which hey, I get it." He puts a hand on his chest, wide smile still in place. "I hate humans too. Some of them are good eggs, but most of them are garbage. A good afternoon for me would be spent ripping them to pieces, simply because it feels right. But dropping all this talk… you still didn't tell me why you decided to talk to me. Cuz if you set all this up just to rant about why you hate humans, then I dunno what to tell ya toots, because I'm not a psychiatrist."

Her lips purse as she nods, seemingly a little miffed from his words, before sighing.

"I want you to join me."

"My joke about you being evil was spot on, wasn't it?"

"Evil is a matter of perspective, I believe. I am going to rewrite the way this world should be. If the Gods refuse to do their job, then I will, by making this world in my own image." Her eyes glow a little as she scowls. "I am amassing an army… and a number of plans, to ensure that humanity is wiped out with only a few settlements surviving. Those people will live out their days in fear, until generations pass and what was once fear becomes adulation, and worship. They will worship the Grimm as the world's true guardians, and me as their Goddess. I had plans set for this, plans which have been in motion and were being prepared for years... but then, I found you… when you destroyed my Grimm in another forest, I was struck by your power, and your absolute loathing for humanity… a loathing so much like my own…"

Slowly, Salem reaches out a hand towards Angra Mainyu. "Join me, my counterpart… and together, we can lead this world into a new age… and relish in humanity's destruction together, as Queen... and King."

The Avenger sat there silently, the smile gone from his face as he ponders.

"I kinda already have a girlfriend, who is human, ironically."

"I do not mind sharing."

"Okay, jeez, wow, gonna need to unpack that…" He mutters as he cups his chin.

On one hand… he could FEEL the power from this woman.

Someone strong enough to control the Grimm, which occupied 80% of the world and were responsible for making the human (and Faunus) race an endangered species, was definitely going to be well informed… he'd be able to track the other Servants easier this way if he did join her…

…Emiya would probably agree since it would be the logical choice to join someone with far better resources, though he'd be leery about how trustworthy she'd be… Cursed Arm wouldn't have any qualms, he was a Hashashin, he's already got a shady track record of teaming up with unsavory forces…

…Lancelot would be an issue with his chivalry…

…Gudako…

….Gudako wouldn't stand for it. She would want to save the world from someone like Salem.

And damn if she hasn't changed him a bit since when he first met her.

"Well, as fun as that sounds, I'm gonna have to decline." He sighs and slowly stands up. "See, I hate humans, but they're not that bad. And honestly, my girlfriend would kill me for trying to pull a world domination scheme, so as tempting as a threeway between the both of you sounds, I'm gonna have to decline."

"I see…" Salem stares at him blankly for a few seconds before she stands up as well and sighs. "More's the pity… seems I will have to resort to plan B."

"Let me guess… make me join you by force?" A wide smile splits his void of a face as the outline of his form begins to rupture and violently churn like water.

"You read my mind." A similar smirk forms on Salem's lips. "I will see you another time, my betrothed... once I crush your resistance and destroy the anchors that keep you from joining my side."

"If that was a threat to my girl… then you better bet I'll rip you apart before that happens." His body takes on the form of a lupine figure as he lets out a growling cackle, the white void of the mindscape starting to fracture.

"I wouldn't expect any less… though humor me this, before we part ways… what is your name?"

"Heh… tell you what… you can call me... **Ahriman.** "

The mindscape shatters.

* * *

Suddenly, Angra Mainyu blinked and he was back in the cave, with a slowly disintegrating Seer under his clenched fist.

"Huh… that was a thing." He hums, raising a brow before sighing as he looks out towards the exit of the cave.

"Great… now I've gotta tell them about THIS shit too…"

Slowly, he began to leave the cave, humming a little ditty to himself.

"Orrrr maybe I'll keep this a secret too, because as much of a pain it is when they start yelling at me, its fucking hilarious to see how pissed they get~!"

* * *

"Hmm…" Salem hums to herself, sitting on her throne, watching her Seer fading into dissipating shadows from the strain.

Seems his powers really were capable of affecting things even across distant mental connections… the fact that he flexed his abilities like that and damaged her Seer to the point of it dying as soon as she cut the connection was cause for interest.

"Ahriman…" She whispers wistfully as she turns her head to look out the window. "What a lovely name…"

"Milady?"

"Ah, Tyrian…" She hums as she turns to look at her most loyal servant, her zealot assassin, standing across the throne room, by the door. He seemed nervous about something, that was unlike him unless he royally failed at a mission, which couldn't be the case this time seeing as she didn't send him on any recently to her knowledge. "What is it?"

"Well… a few things milady." He admits, tilting his head, thin lips in a wide frown. "Hazel has just contacted and said he is on the way back with your little pet."

"She has a name, Tyrian…" The Grimm Queen sighs, her eyes closing.

"A-a thousand pardons your majesty, I mean, Hazel is on the way back with Cinder. Her condition is stabilizing but she is still in need of heavy medical attention."

"Good, tell him to give her the bare minimal required to keep her alive until she gets here. I will handle the rest. And make sure she gets the bare minimum amount of pain killers… let this be a learning experience to make her grow stronger."

Predictably, the order to basically ensure Cinder suffers more made Tyrian's frown flip into a wide smile. He was a very simple person at his core. "Of course milday!"

"What else do you wish to tell me?"

The grin faltered, and he grew pensive. "Well… it is the matter of the mountain you had Cinder order the White Fang to mine in Atlas…"

"Have they been discovered already?" She raises a brow, slowly opening her eyes.

"N-no milady… they… seem to have vanished."

Her lips form a flat line as she sits up straighter in her throne. "What?"

"T-the White Fang stationed there… s-seem to have vanished…."

Salem's eyes narrow dangerously as Tyrian shrinks on himself before her.

"What happened?"

* * *

Captain Bay Lupin wasn't the strongest White Fang officer, but he was one of the most dedicated.

In all his years of service to the cause, from the day Chief Ghira Belladonna left it in the hands of Sienna Khan when Lupin was a young man, to present time, he has been nothing but loyal to the cause, even if the methods have changed a little.

But unlike many deserters, he saw the need for change, the need for violence, because violence is all that humans understand, so violence is what they shall receive.

From assassinating members of the Schnee Dust company's board of directors and family members, to blowing up security outposts and vandalizing human property, he's seen his kind done just about everything to spread the word that the Faunus were not inferior. They were strong. Stronger than humans ever could be. And he'd be a liar if he said he didn't indulge in the violence, but hey, a wolf Faunus tends to be a little more bloodthirsty.

Equality begins in blood, and fear.

Lupin knew this well.

Which was why he wondered if his current situation was the result of some sort of karmic power beyond his comprehension, as he was experiencing a new brand of fear, and saw far more blood than he was used to.

It was supposed to be a simple operation. One of Atlas' mountains was found to be rich in Dust, which they had to mine for the branch in Vale for some sort of plan. He wasn't privy to it, and when Adam fucking Taurus tells you its above your paygrade, you damn well listen. He may have been young for a White Fang officer, but he was damn powerful for his age.

So, the Atlesian branch set up a covert mining base, an outpost that was roughly the size of a small village, right near the mountain's base, which had a large natural tunnel which they would use as an access point. Apparently it went in surprisingly deep, and their scouts haven't been able to find an end so far, so they planned to build support beams and mine cart rails in the discovered tunnels until they hit a dead end.

Building the base itself proved surprisingly easy despite being in the heart of racist territory. But, with the strong winds around the base of the mountain and the nearly constant snowstorms, it was a perfect cover from radars and scouts from the Atlesian military empire.

Essentially, they were hiding in one of Atlas' blind spots.

Downside was that sending out signals and transmissions was also incredibly difficult, even with the CCT tower in Atlas being arguably the most powerful and advanced one on Remnant. Again, fault of the snowstorms. They would have to wait until the blizzard dies down before they can send any sort of message to the Vale branch.

This, proved to be their downfall, as with how heavy the snowstorm was, they couldn't send an SOS when they abruptly found themselves under attack.

Lupin grit his teeth, his canine ears twitching above his head as he aimed his rifle around, flashlight useless as it shone out into the harsh winds.

It happened suddenly. Without warning, one of their towers was suddenly filled with the corpses of the White Fang soldiers manning it. Each one was killed with brutal efficiency, sporting deep, bloody gashes in their skulls and throats, or sporting crossbow bolts sticking out of their heads.

All of the corpses died from the same set of weapons. Some sort of axe, and a crossbow.

At first Lupin thought there was an assassin on the loose, but when he lost contact with several other parts of the mining outpost simultaneously, he realized they were under attack by an organized squad of killers.

"Damn it all!" He roars out as he and two other White Fang soldiers, a pair of lieutenants, one a Deer Faunus girl with antlers and a Semblance that let her enhance the Aura strength in her legs to help her run and maneuver better, and another who was an Armadillo Faunus man with slightly plated skin and a Semblance that essentially made his skin made of stone.

"I-is it the Atlesian military? Did they send specialists after us!?" The Deer Faunus whimpered, holding up a pair of twin machine pistols as she aims them around, the three of them cautiously walking through the snow across the outpost's courtyard, heading to the section of the outpost that contained the communications center.

"T-they shouldn't even know we're here!" The Armadillo exclaimed, holding his mechanized power pickaxe in both hands.

"Both of you shut up already!" Lupin barks out, his rifle still raised up. "We might be the only ones left. Right now, we need to hunker down in there and send out an SOS. Our brothers need to know what's happened here!"

"R-right!" The two of the lieutenants nod.

"W-we can do this, right?" The Deer Faunus piped up as they continued to walk, trying to lighten her mood. "W-we're the strongest ones here… so we should be-"

It happened in a blink.

The sound of the wind and snow muffled the whizzing of the crossbow bolt soaring through the air, and before they even realized what happened, the girl collapsed face first into the snow, a bolt in the back of her skull.

"O-oh my GOD!" The Armadillo screams out, his Semblance immediately activating as his skin begins to turn rock hard.

Just in time, as from the snow, a wraith appeared, a jagged battle axe gripped in one hand as it swung down, the blade cutting through the chest armor of the Faunus soldier.

Finally catching sight of one of, if not THE person responsible for the deaths of over a hundred White Fang soldiers, Lupin felt fear.

This was NOT one of the Atlesian military's soldiers.

This wasn't some special Schnee operative.

This was a ghost.

A black fur collared coat, similar in design to old Atlesian military coats, fluttered in the snow as a soulless, white beaked mask gazed without emotion towards the screaming Armadillo Faunus. The soldier was screaming more from fear rather than pain, seeing as the axe only pierced his armor and not his hardened skin.

That didn't last long, as with nary a moment of hesitation, the wraith pulled the axe back, and booted the hard skinned Faunus to the ground, before swinging down again, meeting the same result.

And again. The stone skin began to crack.

And again. The axe dug a centimeter into flesh.

Lupin decided then, that the soldier would die for the greater good. The SOS had to be sent, because even if the snowstorm was too strong for the message to be sent now, it would be sent eventually once the storm dies down. A delayed message was better than none at all. He just had to send the message, ensure that the message has left the system and was waiting for a better signal before it gets transferred, then put the communication devices on standby.

So, ignoring his comrade's cries for help, Lupin turned away.

Only to come face to face with another ghost.

Barely reacting in time, Lupin raised his rifle and transformed it into a single edged broadsword, blocking what would have been a decapitating axe strike from the ghost, who followed up the slash with a raised single handed crossbow ready to fire.

"The hell you will!" He roars out as his grey eyes flash yellow, his Semblance activating.

His Semblance, Hunter Mode, was a simple one that made his senses and body move faster with his Aura. Essentially, when activated, his reflexes were better, due to time running slower from his perspective. It wasn't a completely unique Semblance, since there were dozens in the world that were similar, sometimes nearly identical to his, but regardless, it was a useful one.

It was for that reason that he was able to twist his body out of the way of the bolt that would have pierced through his chin, and ran his blade down the side of the ghost's arm.

His blade cut right into the coated figure's limb, spraying blood.

No Aura?

But that would mean that these assassins were either fighting without an awakened Aura…

…or they were Grimm..?

Suddenly, the black cloaks and bone white masks were far more haunting to Lupin as he back-stepped away from the ghost, who was curiously staring at its injured arm, dropping the axe. Slowly, it looked at Lupin and began to back away, vanishing into the blinding winds of the snowstorm.

Lupin wasn't dumb enough to believe it was afraid. And he still had one more to take care of.

Turning around, he growled as he saw the other ghost straightening up and turning to face him, having finished butchering the comrade he abandoned.

The Armadillo Faunus was barely recognizable now. Seems the ghost decided to simply hack at him with the axe until his Aura ran out.

Such savage methods…

This wasn't human. This wasn't Faunus.

This was a monster.

Growling loudly, Lupin reared his head back and let loose a loud lupine howl into the air, which seemed to actually stun the ghost for a moment, as if it recognized the sound.

Taking advantage of its reaction, he ran towards the wraith, his sword held in a two handed grip as he charged right at it at speeds greater than most Huntsmen could manage, Semblance at full power, determined to finish this in one blow.

Shaking off its shock in time, the ghost raises its axe up in time to parry a savage blow from Lupin, and the two began their dance of death.

It was a short dance.

It only took three quick strikes before Lupin managed to literally disarm the ghost. The first two, the ghost managed to barely parry and deflect, but on the third one, Lupin's single edged broadsword activated its secondary function, the barrel of the assault rifle having switched places to the tip of the sword.

With a pull of a trigger, the muzzle lit up as he fired several rounds into the ghost's chest, causing it to spasm from the bullets piercing through its torso, before Lupin pulled his blade back and swung it in an uppercut, lopping off the ghost's axe wielding arm, and then proceeding to cleave downwards, the blade cutting right through the black coated figure's chest.

Blood stained the white snow and Lupin's grey and brown streaked hair, some drops landing on his White Fang armor, staining it. The Wolf Faunus panted, watching the figure slowly fall backwards, landing flat on its back, dead in the snow…

…before slowly disintegrating into a dark purple mist.

…what?

"I-it IS a Grimm…" He murmurs to himself, eyes widening.

The Grimm were dressing up like people now, and were even using weapons.

This… this could put the White Fang at risk… no, this could even put more than that at risk. The entire world would be in danger!

He had to warn the Vale branch, no matter what!

And as he turned around with a determined glare, he felt the cold sting of a crossbow bolt pierce right through his right kneecap.

Howling in pain, he activated his Semblance in a panic, and managed to deflect two more bolts, each one coming from two separate directions, before he felt another managed to sneak past his guard and lodge itself into his right ankle.

Crossbow bolts began to riddle his body in areas that crippled him, shot by shot, until he collapsed onto his knees, dropping his sword.

One of those bolts went through one of his wolf ears too. The pain was agonizing, and the intense cold made it even worse as he struggled to stay awake, his grey eyes staring out at the blizzard.

"WHAT ARE YOU!? IF YOU'RE GOING TO KILL ME, SHOW YOURSELVES LIKE MEN, NOT GRIMM!" He howls out, before letting loose one final howl to the moon.

The blizzard was the only source of sound he heard for a few seconds, until the ghosts answered him.

His eyes widened as he began to see black figures emerge from the cold.

He had thought there was just a small squad of them. At least four or five of highly trained assassins, or mutated Grimm…

…what he saw was at least twice that amount.

He could barely count more than thirty of those axe wielding ghosts in front of him, and they were all surrounding him in a circle, silently stalking forward like… like wolves surrounding an injured elk.

"W-what are you…?" He murmurs out, towards the closest ghost in front of him, one he recognized from how its arm was still dripping blood from the wound he gave it, his vision blurring as the cold and blood loss finally began to take its toll on him, his Aura failing to keep him awake much longer.

His only reply was the ghost stepping forward…

…and kicking him in the side of the head, knocking him out instantly.

* * *

The masked ghost stared down at the unconscious and likely frostbitten wolf person.

This was curious. Unprecedented.

He successfully claimed the life of one of their operatives.

He was stronger than the other beastkin that occupied this outpost.

Silently, the figure nodded at one of his brethren, who nodded in return and walked towards the unconscious wolf man and picked him up in a fireman's carry, before the army of black cloaked figures began to quickly leave the base, dragging away the bodies and taking their weapons.

This wolf man will be a good replacement for the operative they just lost, and he will function well as their liaison for then they can no longer work.

He will be resistant, but before they fade, they will show him that it will be his greatest honor to become one of them.

They will break his resistance, and make him loyal.

The wolf will become Oprichnik.

And when their Tsar finally awakens from his slumber within the mountain, he will find a brand new and loyal soldier awaiting orders.

All is for their glorious leader.

Glory to the Tsar.

God save the Tsar.

Long live the Thunder Emperor.

* * *

 _Okay, so I may have fibbed a bit on the first Servant you see outside the main four, but hey, technically you didn't SEE him, right?_

 _I've been planning this for a while now, and will have small end of chapter snippets or interludes to show what's happening with some of the other Servants. But, like I promised, Ruler WILL be the next Servant you guys see. I'm just not telling you 'when'._

 _Now, lets talk about the Servants. Specifically, how many of these fuckers there are in this story._

 _Yeah, I realize I might be playing a HUGE risk by having all of them be in this world, especially since its more than the typical amount of Servants, but everytime I tried to cut out one of them, it just... felt wrong. Normally you'd have like, six, since that's the max amount of Servants you can bring on a mission, or seven if you wanna get one from each of the main classes, but I ended up going with the full ten, one from each class, including the extra classes._

 _Except Moon Cancer and Alter Ego._

 _Cuz I can't think of any conceivable way to include either iteration of BB into this. One is a self insert prankster memelord mary sue, and the other is still a self insert prankster, but is also half Nyarlathotep._

 _Plus, I just… don't like BB. I never played Fate/Extra CCC since there was never a western release when my PSP was working, so I never got any form of attachment to her. I'm more attached to Kiara than I am to BB, and that's just cuz Kiara was my first guaranteed 5 star Servant I ever summoned. I dunno why, I just feel… irritated when I think of BB. Its inexplicable. And its not because she looks like Sakura either, I love Sakura Matou._

 _And as for no Alter Egos, well, I felt like 10 was a nice, lucky, even number to cap the amount of Servants at. Adding in Alter Egos would have made it an odd number, and that wouldn't have sat right._

 _SO there you go, you have a Saber, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Ruler, and Foreigner to look forward to. I'm sure quite a few of you will disagree with my decision to include this many Servants, but look on the bright side, most of them won't come into proper play for a long time._

 _I'm sure most of you have already pieced together the identity of the Foreigner already. There's only three of them, it's not a hard guess. And if you couldn't figure out who these black cloaked figures are, then you need to go and do Lostbelt 1._

 _I'm on Lostbelt 2 by the way, and its fucking insane._

 _Right, that's all from me for now. See you guys in the next update. Love you all!_


	7. Belgrade

_Whoo! New chapter, after like, half a year. I am so sorry for how late this is. Time flies._

* * *

Chapter 7: Belgrade

* * *

 _"Alright boys, it's our first mission together as a mixed unit! Who's ready to beat up some monsters?" The ginger haired second Master of Chaldea exclaims with nothing but glee, her smile almost lighting up the room._

 _"Good grief… it's only a scouting mission into a minor Singularity…" EMIYA Alter grunts, his modified Kanshou and Bakuya already in his hands._

 _"At the very least, one can admire the Lord Magus' enthusiasm." Hassan of the Cursed Arm hums, rubbing his chin lightly as he nods._

 _"Shouldn't it be 'Lady Magus'?"_

 _"It is a little late to be changing the naming convention right now, Archer."_

 _Near them, the dark armored Berserker known as Lancelot was silent, his glowing red visor gazing blankly at his Master, awaiting orders._

 _"Four Servants though Goody-Bags? Sure that's enough for this?" Angra Mainyu raises a brow, standing near Gudako._

 _"First of all never call me that again in public, and second of all, hell yeah! You guys can totally handle this!" She grins widely and flashes a thumbs up to her favorite Servant._

 _"You remember I'm still weaker than a packet of instant noodles right?"_

 _"Pssh, you'll be fine." Gudako waves him off before clearing her throat, gaining all her Servants' attention. "Now then, there's only four of you today, so I want full cooperation between all of you. Especially you Lancelot."_

 ** _"…Arrr….thurrr….."_**

 _"Be good and I'll let you play with some of the unused anti-air cannons the security team doesn't use cuz we're stuck here!"_

 _The Berserker immediately straightened up, his head rearing back as he lets out a howl, visor now flaring a brighter red._

 ** _"OOOOOooOoouuuUUUHHH!"_**

 _"Atta boy!"_

 _"Master, enabling a Berserker is a terrible idea." The alternate version of EMIYA snorts, unable to hide the slight amount of mirth he felt from this. "Fujimaru will yell at you again."_

 _"Nah, it'll be fine." Gudako flashes a peace sign as she grins cheekily. "I'll make sure he's going on a mission in a Singularity when it happens. It'll be the perfect crime."_

 _"Speaking of, why the heck isn't your Ruler here instead of me? He'd be a better fit in a scouting mission to a London Singularity, wouldn't he?" Angra Mainyu grumbles before getting a slap upside the head courtesy of his Master. "Ow, bitch!"_

 _"Shaddap! I said you're coming with me and that's that!" She huffs, pouting at him before turning towards CHALDEAS main core and pointing at it. "Doc'! We're all set! Rayshift us already! It's time for another adventure!"_

 _Her three sane Servants simply sigh and shake their heads before resigning themselves._

 _Such was the way life went as a Servant to Chaldea's unpredictable female Master._

* * *

"You guys excited as I am?" The resident Avenger grinned, arms crossed behind his head as he strutted down the hallway of Beacon's dorm. "Orientation starts today, we can FINALLY get some real action."

"The actual test doesn't begin until tomorrow morning, today is just the day the other students arrive." Cursed Arm hums, his cloak shrouding most of his features aside from his gleaming white mask.

Emiya had no response to give as he simply stared ahead, doing his best to ignore the Avenger as he turned to look at Lancelot. "You think you can keep yourself under control when the test starts? There likely will be combat."

"I… think I will be fine. I believe my Madness Enhancement has been lowered enough in this body that I should be able to fight more seriously without it activating… hopefully. It briefly flared during the bar fight but I was able to get control of it before anything happened." The purple haired Berserker sighed, running a hand through his lightly spiked and slicked back hair. It was starting to grow longer again, not quite enough to make his appearance identical to how he looked late into his adultery with Guinevere, but it was getting there. He'll need to cut his hair eventually.

"Good. You are lucky we included a possibility of an enraged breakdown in your medical form. Maybe some of the medication they make here could help you keep yourself under control." The Archer grunts, remembering that particular survey they had to finish. Standard issue medical forms to write down any possible illnesses they had. Of course, he himself had to write down that he had short term memory loss, and had lost his sense of taste for his own medical issues.

Cursed Arm had to write down his inability to properly eat solids due to his mask getting in the way with its positioning (aside from extreme circumstances where he pulls it off enough to eat a heart, which obviously was not included) and included his 'mutated limb'.

Lancelot simply had to have emotional and mental instability written down in his medical forms. Thankfully, he would be receiving medication once the school term started.

Angra Mainyu of course had nothing to write down on his medical form. Of course the arguably weakest of them was the one with the least health problems.

"Assuming those medicinal pills actually have any effect on me at all…" The Berserker mutters, only to grunt as Angra Mainyu walks closer and slaps him on the back.

"Hey, you guys are pretty much human so chances are it will!"

"Please do not touch me again, lest I accidentally react violently."

* * *

"Another year, another batch of new students." Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck hummed, sipping quickly from his thermos. Most of the staff at Beacon were currently scattered around the campus, preparing for the arrival of freshmen students, and returning ones. The good Doctor on the other hand was simply standing on one of Beacon's balconies, observing the distant airships heading towards the landing platforms, Ozpin relaxing by him. The two coffee aficionados enjoyed little moments like this, basking in the company of not just a companion, nor a coworker, but a fellow lover of caffeine.

"Excited? I have a good feeling that this year's batch of students will be quite impressive." Ozpin hummed as he sipped from his mug. From the various profiles he's collected of the new freshmen year, he's already put his eyes on several noteworthy children who may achieve greatness. Ruby Rose was of course one of them. But there were others, such as the famous Pyrrha Nikos, and a small handful of other students who show impressive grades.

"I choose not to play into those feelings and prefer to examine them myself once they actually pass, after all grades are typically written with bias when it comes to small schools to prepare children for becoming Huntsmen, and some students may fold under the pressure of studying in a place such as Beacon." Oobleck sniffed, before sipping from his thermos yet again, his body barely able to remain still.

"True. We shall find out either way whether or not they can handle the entrance exam…" The headmaster nods as the two enter a comfortable silence once more, watching the airships finally arrive and the students start to disembark. "….on a more serious note, have you looked over the blood and Aura samples I've given you?"

"Yes of course, I finished examining them last night, quite curious and very disturbing. You say that they came from someone currently comatose in the medical ward?"

"Indeed. A young woman named Gudako, about the age of most of the freshman students… and according to our quartet of mostly amnesiac freshmen currently resting in the dorms, recently injured by Salem." Ozpin's eyes narrow. "The unusual alterations to her physical body are incredibly concerning, and I am unsure of why Salem would target the girl unless she was a Maiden…"

"Except she isn't one." The green haired history teacher hummed, tapping a finger rapidly against the railing of the balcony. "You checked I presume?"

"I did." Ozpin nodded, though his lips pursed at his own findings.

While he definitely found out that the comatose girl wasn't a Maiden after the deep dive he took with his senses and abilities to truly examine her Aura, he did found out that she somehow had magic.

Her body had magic in it, and from what he could sense from the 'feel' of it, she's used that magic numerous times.

A natural born magic user, possibly the first in thousands of years.

He didn't tell anyone of his findings of course, because he wasn't entirely sure. For all he knew the magic he sensed in her was a byproduct of Salem doing... whatever it was that caused the girl to look like that. He could sense that her magic was also greatly affected by the taint left behind by Salem's actions, as he could sense her magic attempting to fight back the crawling darkness of Salem's corruption.

"My own findings are very unsettling. Her Aura is contaminated, eroding, constantly regenerating and being broken down by whatever damaged her. Prolonged stay in the ICU is certainly helping her recover at least, I imagine her Aura will finally be back to normal in several weeks, perhaps a month, assuming there are no complications. Blood test is what I found concerning however. Found microscopic bacteria, ancient, possibly thousands, if not millions of years old."

"Is that so?" The headmaster turned to look at his companion with raised brows. "Are you sure about that?"

"99.7% sure of it. Bacteria does not match anything in recorded history. Some sort of Grimm-like bacterium, eats Aura and slowly converts it into Grimm-like cells found in decaying Grimm. Unusual synergy in how the cells move, almost as if operating under a single directive or mind, but with some form of latency between each individual cell. Not entirely identical but very close. My hypothesis is thusly; whatever was done to her was done in an attempt to try and transform her into a Grimm hybrid of some kind by Salem."

Ozpin's expression darkened.

His job just got a lot harder. It wasn't enough to make sure the Maidens were hidden now. They had to be protected at all costs unless he wanted them to be corrupted and transformed into… Grimm.

'Salem… how low will you go..?' He muses mentally before shaking his head. "Have you discovered a way to kill this bacteria?"

"None, besides time. From what I have discovered, the bacterium in the blood sample died off naturally after a few hours, either due to a lack of a host body to feed off of, or due to separation from main source. I would wager that all the bacteria will die eventually inside the patient's body in due time, as long as she continues to receive life support." Oobleck sips from his thermos again, starting to actually vibrate in place a little. "Students are entering the auditorium now, it's close to time for your speech. What's the theme this year?"

Ozpin hums, accepting the change in subject, before chuckling as he happens to witness a small explosion down in the courtyard, followed by distant and furious ranting.

"I'm thinking… complacency."

* * *

At some point, Shirou had broken off from his team and was wandering around, scoping out the other student hopefuls.

He got plenty of new weapons added into his Reality Marble in the process, due to the fact that many of them wandered around with their weapons sheathed and on display. It was good to see that they were smart and carried their gear with them instead of leaving it in the luggage, though he could see a few that did just the latter.

He was honestly impressed by virtually each and every weapon he came across. Each one had its own name, its own little history. Most of these weapons were made by the very people who wielded them, and have been virtually inseparable from their wielders since the day they were made.

It almost made him smile, just a little.

"You absolute dolt! You almost blew us off the side of the damn cliff!"

And there it goes. Goodbye smile, see you next year.

Shirou sighed as he turned to look at the source of the shouting. A girl in all white with matching snowy hair was busy telling off… Ruby.

Small world. He almost forgot she was offered to join Beacon by Ozpin.

"I-I said I was sorry! Please stop yelling!" The red riding hood whimpers a little, flinching away from the irate girl in front of her.

"Sorry isn't enough considering you just caused the complete obliteration of one of my Dust canisters, and almost destroyed the rest of my luggage! Do you have any idea who I am!?" The icy eyed girl demands, her hands on her hips.

"Someone who needs to remember what an inside voice is."

The two girls turn towards Shirou, who simply stood there with a languid stare. Ruby's eyes immediately lit up with joy.

"Shirou!"

"And you are?" The other girl narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms haughtily. For a brief moment, the image of another girl with raven hair tied in pigtails and eyes that were a different shade of blue overlapped over the white haired girl's figure.

As soon as Shirou blinked, the image was gone.

'Who was… oh. Rin. I… haven't had a clear image of how she looked in ages…' He mused in his mind before finally replying. "I'm just someone making sure my friend here isn't in trouble. I'm sure whatever happened was just an accident."

"She knocked over my luggage and blew up one of my Dust canisters!"

"I-it was an accident I swear! I tripped cuz I was dizzy and spinning because my sister ditched me and then I sneezed when she shook the canister in my face while yelling at me and then there was an explosion and I just want her to stop yelling!" The silver eyed girl wails a little, zipping behind Shirou to hide behind him with a whimper. The Archer sighed, before pulling Ruby out from behind him by the scruff of her hood.

"It was obviously an accident. Look at her and tell me she'd do something that malicious on purpose. Doesn't this look like the face of regret?"

The snowy haired girl did look at Ruby, and was greeted with the most pathetic looking expression she'd ever seen. The red hooded girl looked like a kicked puppy. A hooded, silver eyed puppy.

"...ugh, fine, I'll halt my chiding, but you had better shape up if you plan on staying here. Schools like Beacon are no place for the clumsy."

"Phew…" Ruby wipes some sweat off her forehead, before flinching and nodding quickly when she receives a stern glare from the angry girl. "I-I mean yeah, got it! I'm sorry!"

"Hmph. What is your name, dolt?"

"E-erm, Ruby Rose…"

"Good. I will attempt to remember your name, just so I know whose name to yell out when _another_ explosion happens during classes. Assuming you make it that far."

"Eep…"

The icy eyed girl then proceeded to look at Shirou, raising a brow. It took him a few seconds to realize she wanted his name too.

"Shirou Emiya. And you are?"

"Hmph, my name is Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. Remember that as the name of the woman who will become the top of the class for this generation." The now named Weiss huffs arrogantly, smirking a little before snapping her fingers as she walks off, her… butlers or something following after her tiredly, carrying the rest of her luggage.

"….she's scary. I don't know how you talked to her so calmly, she was terrifying." Ruby sighs, hunching over a little.

"I've had.. Experience with other people of a similar disposition… I think. I don't really remember." Shirou shrugs, receiving a small frown from Ruby. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just… knowing you can barely remember stuff kinda makes me feel bad."

"Don't worry about it. I've had years to come to terms with this. Usually I just write in a journal to make sure I can refresh my memory." He waves her off a little, before realizing he hadn't actually written in it since his little excursion to Vale. Shit. He had a lot to put in there now, hopefully he remembered most of it.

"Oh wow, that sounds pretty smart actually!" Ruby beams a smile, before standing up straighter. "Well, don't worry, I've got great memory as long as it's not related to boring stuff like, ugh, history classes or something, so I can do the remembering for you!"

 _"Don't worry Emiya, my memory's pretty good besides boring magecraft theory, dumb history lessons and that kinda stuff that Rits likes to harp on about, so I can do the remembering for you!"_

Shirou blinked away the memory of his Master saying something almost identical to what Ruby just said, before smiling tiredly. "Yeah… you do that."

"Erm…"

The two friends look away from each other to find a boy with blonde hair and deep blue eyes standing there awkwardly.

"Sorry to, erm, break the moment I guess but… do either of you know where we're supposed to go?"

* * *

Blake was on edge all morning.

Knowing that the… murderer she met in Vale was going to be here somewhere, assuming he spoke the truth, has had her scanning every person she came across as she slowly walked along the courtyard. There was an explosion or something that almost made her pull out Gambol Shroud, but she relaxed when it turned out to just be an accident related to Dust.

A part of her wanted to go over to ground zero of the blast to get some verbal jabs in at the Schnee heiress who was berating a younger girl, but for once, something else took precedence. Finding the one known as Hassan I' Sabbah.

It was easier said than done, the skull masked teen was an expert at hiding. She couldn't find a trace of him anywhere outside no matter how hard she looked. Maybe he was actually in the auditorium? Hiding amidst the crowd of students?

"Damn it…" Blake grunted as she slammed a fist against one of the trees in the courtyard. "Where is he..?"

"Giving up already?"

Her senses screamed **Danger** as she leapt away from the tree and drew her weapon in gun form, aiming it right up at the branches.

There he was, cloak, mask and all, crouching on one of the thicker branches.

"How long were you there!?" Blake hissed out, her heart pounding.

"A little over five minutes. I was wondering whether you would notice or not. You would be surprised how often people on the lookout tend to ignore what is above them. Although perhaps, you of all people would know better than most." Hassan hums, before slowly dropping down from the branch and crouching down, his hood pulled lower over his masked face today. "Still, as I had said before, I am here. Be at ease."

"A little hard to do that when a murderer was hiding in a tree right above me and I never noticed." The feline Faunus grunts, her eyes narrowed as she slowly returns her weapon to its katana form and then sheaths it.

"I prefer the term _Assassin._ "

"So a murderer for hire."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Belladonna. Now then, I believe it is time to go and enter the auditorium, loathe as I am to do so."

Blake raises a brow at that, watching the Hashashin slowly start to walk off with his back hunched for a few seconds before she slowly starts to follow him. "Not a fan of crowds?"

"Too many people in such a room will be noisy. I am not fond of being stuck in a crowd of people, especially children who will no doubt gawk and stare at my appearance."

"Maybe next time don't come to orientation for school wearing the world's most suspicious outfit."

* * *

Weiss Schnee was having a bad start to what should have been a great day.

A number of things have gone so completely and terribly wrong in the past week.

First of course, being her father acting up when Winter and General Ironwood came to have a little meeting with him.

What the meeting was about, she had no idea. It was apparently confidential. But it wasn't a pleasant meeting for sure considering that her father could be heard shouting in his office at them.

She hasn't heard her father shout in years. Last time he did, it was at her. When she asked if she could be a Huntress.

Either way, the meeting obviously went sour. General Ironwood left with a grim expression, and Winter looked absolutely livid.

Weiss had made sure that she was nowhere near her father for the rest of the evening, lest he find a new target for his ire and possibly somehow find a way to revoke her application to Beacon.

The other things that went wrong were minor things. Stubbing her toe on the bathroom door after she woke up, something that her Aura didn't protect her from due to being so unprepared and groggy. Sneezing so hard in the shower that she dropped the soap, on the same toe she stubbed, which also bypassed her Aura somehow. Dealing with her brother's snide and smug attitude. Realizing her hair wasn't brushed long after the airship took off for Beacon, and then proceeding to spend a few minutes to deal with that.

And of course, running into that that dumb klutz of a girl with the red cape, and her smug, scowling affiliate.

Upon further rumination as she walked around the grounds of Beacon for a short detour to take in the sights, she of course realized that they weren't that bad. It 'was' an accident. But that didn't change the fact that she didn't like them. Much.

'Still, at least I'm here now.' She mused to herself, smirking confidently as she walks through one of Beacon's little side gardens. She would walk around for a few more minutes before heading for the auditorium. She had plenty of time.

She paused for a moment when she noticed that the small garden, comparable to a miniature park, had a rather large fish pond. And there was someone kneeling in front of it.

As she walked closer, she felt her breath get taken away.

Kneeling in front of the pond was a knight.

There was no other way to describe the youth who knelt there but as a knight. A handsome, serene looking knight.

The perfect knight.

His armor was a very deep and dark shade of purple. It looked incredibly sturdy and high quality, with spiked boots and gauntlets, and sharp claws on the fingertips.

And yet despite the menacing armor, the face of the boy wearing it contrasted greatly.

He was the most handsome boy Weiss had ever laid eyes on. A perfect, chiseled jawline. Firm, yet delicate eyebrows. His medium length hair was a beautiful shade of violet, combed back in some sort of spiky mullet.

His lips were in a thin, flat line. Neither a smile, nor a frown. His eyes were shut, and had dark rings under them, possibly from a lack of sleep. Or maybe eyeshadow.

He was kneeling in front of the pond, one hand forming a fist on the ground, the other arm crossed over his chest.

It looked like he was praying.

Weiss shook her head quickly and lightly slapped her rosy cheeks. 'W-what's gotten into me? He's handsome, sure, but he's not… that special… but he's so.. ugh, snap out of it!'

"Are you alright milady?"

The heiress froze when she realizes that the knight was looking straight at her.

His eyes were an icy blue. Just like hers.

"Y-y-yes! I am perfectly fine, thank you!" She exclaims, a little more loudly than she intended, before clearing her throat and smoothening out her dress she does her best to look presentable.

"If you say so." He nods, briefly flashing a small, tired smile as he stood up slowly, his armor creaking. "I apologize if I am getting in the way of your enjoyment of the garden. I will be on my way."

"N-no no! I should apologize for intruding on your prayers!" She yelped a little, taking a step closer. "We can enjoy the garden together, before heading to the auditorium!"

What's gotten into her? She's never.. felt like this before. It was almost unusual. There was a strange allure to the boy, an almost supernatural one. His features were too fine, too well sculpted.

There's an odd, almost sad look on the knight's face before he nods with a small smile. "If that is what you wish, milady. Might I have your name?"

Weiss nods, cheeks red as she puts a hand on her chest, smiling with pride. "My name is Weiss Schnee. Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company."

"I am Lancelot du Loc." He nods, before gesturing to the rest of the garden. "Shall we?"

"Y-yes, we shall."

* * *

"W-wow… there's.. a lot more people here than I expected…" Ruby murmurs as she looks around the massive auditorium.

Teenagers filled the entire room up, all crowding around in small groups and talking to each other.

"Yeah… it's a little intimidating…" The blonde teen from before voices his agreement as he follows after her.

A new friend! His name was Jaune Arc, and he was… just as awkward as she was. And a bit noodley looking.

But he had a pretty cool weapon. It was a classic sword and shield combo too!

"If you think this is intimidating, I can't imagine how you'll react to a Grimm." Shirou huffs beside her, his eyes scanning the crowd before seemingly locking onto something. "I need to go. Found my… ugh.. friend…"

"Ooh, where? Where? I wanna see what your friend looks like!" Ruby chirps, bouncing a little as she tries to follow his line of sight.

She ends up spying a single teenager leaning up against a wall lazily, the other student hopefuls giving him a wide berth.

For a good reason, he was completely covered in gnarly looking tattoos. The dark red ink of the markings mixed with his dark skin tone made him look rather… menacing, especially with how he just smirked at anyone who even glanced at him.

Add that with the fact that he was wearing nothing but a ragged red cloth of some kind that wrapped around his waist and went down to his ankles, a red bandanna holding up his spiky black hair and red bandage-like arm bands of a similar looking material, and you have yourself one mean looking teenager.

"….i-is that him?" Ruby meekly points at the distant, tattooed teenager.

"That's him." Shirou nods with exasperation, sighing.

"He's covered in tattoos."

"That he is."

"He's shirtless."

"He is."

Ruby stared up at Shirou nervously. "He… kinda looks scary."

"He's more bark than bite. But you shouldn't underestimate him either. I'd wager he's probably one of the most dangerous people in this entire room." The ebony skinned gunslinger grimaces, narrowing his eyes. "As much as I hate to say it, he's a bit tougher than I am right now."

"With ink like that, he definitely looks tough…" Jaune murmurs as he stares at the tattooed teen by the wall. "He gives me the creeps."

"Well, you're lucky you don't deal with him every damn day then." Shirou grunts, before he starts to walk towards his 'friend'. "I'll see you both later I guess."

"S-see you." Ruby nods, waving lightly at him.

She and Jaune stood there in silence for a few moments as they watched Shirou walk over to the tattooed teen, before Shirou proceeded to slap him upside the head as the two suddenly start to bicker about something.

"They sure don't look like friends…" Jaune murmurs, before turning to look at Ruby. "So, what now-"

"Oh, there's my sister! YANG! HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME!? BETRAYER!"

With that loud exclamation, Ruby zipped off, her arms flailing as the proceeds to tackle her blonde sister a few dozen feet away, almost knocking her to the ground.

Jaune stares after Ruby, idly noting the falling and disintegrating rose petals left in her wake, before he sighs and slumps, starting to walk off in a random direction. "….great… alone again. What are the odds of me finding another cute, quirky girl now-oof!"

Only for him to walk right into another person.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" The person, who turned out to be another girl, exclaimed as she looked at him with a pair of the greenest eyes he's ever seen, and hair that was long and a shade of red more intense than Ruby's hood.

Jaune was momentarily stunned.

She looked incredibly elegant, like a princess…

…at least her face did. Everything below her neck screamed _warrior._

She was wearing bronze armor that left her shoulders and upper thighs bare, with long gloves and armored greaves of a similar design. The armor left a surprising amount of her body to be revealed, and what he could see was that she was built like an amazoness.

She wasn't overly muscular, but she was definitely fit enough that she could probably snap him in half with a hug. Her partially visible abs alone looked like they could probably break his fist if he tried to punch them.

The blonde boy blinked in surprise for a few seconds, his wide blue eyes briefly scanning her appearance. She looked familiar. Almost like…

"Holy crud…"

The girl grimaced, her brow furrowed, as if expecting the worst. "O-oh… I should-"

"You look like that girl on the back of Pumpkin Pete's cereal boxes!"

She blinked, her expression going blank. "Pardon?"

Jaune chuckled sheepishly, scratching his cheek a little. "S-sorry. Didn't mean to blurt that out. I just really like Pumpkin Pete's cereal and your outfit reminds me of this girl I keep seeing on the back of the box. Like, some pro athlete or something. You even have the same red hair, so I just felt a little giddy. Sorry if I weirded you out."

The redheaded amazoness stared at him for a few seconds before a small smile bloomed on her face as she nods. "It is completely alright. I get that all the time. What's your name?"

"Oh, the name's Jaune. Jaune Arc." He grins, lightly dusting off some imaginary dirt off his chest plate. "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it~"

"Do we now?" She raises a brow, smiling wryly.

"W-well… my mom says they do?" Jaune deflates a little, chuckling. The redhead giggles a little before giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Well, she sounds like a wise woman. My name is Pyrrha, it is nice to meet you Jaune."

The two smiled at each other, and a budding friendship was formed.

* * *

"You're shitting me."

"I wish I was. His name is actually Jaune Arc."

"Huh… if that ain't the mother of all coincidences. Small world eh?"

Shirou grunts as he rests his back against the wall behind him, standing beside Angra Mainyu.

When the blonde boy introduced himself, he had to take a second to steel his expression to prevent showing any outward shock.

A completely different world, or at least completely different version of Earth, and yet a name like 'Jaune Arc'. If that wasn't a foreboding prophecy to the fate that awaits the boy, he didn't know what was.

Still, unlike his namesake, he didn't act anything like he would have expected. He was incredibly friendly, sure, but he seemed… a little dim. There wasn't an aura of divine grace around him. Hell, he didn't look like he had ANY Aura at all either.

He didn't _feel_ like a Saint.

He also seemed ill prepared. From what he could make out, the boy was very lanky. Barely any sign of any muscle tone one would associate with the body of someone who has spent years training to enter a school like this.

What was most telling was his weapon.

Crocea Mors. An incredibly impressive sword and shield combo, with the shield being able to fold and compress itself to become a sheath. It wasn't the flashiest weapon, not when compared to most of the other weapons he's scanned lately, but it seemed to be nigh indestructible, and had a long, long, LONG history of combat and had many wielders, all of which were part of the Arc family.

Jaune was the latest wielder, but he could tell that the weapon had seen absolutely no combat while in his hands.

'Maybe he was raised with training weapons and only recently was allowed to wield it?' Shirou mused, before shaking his head.

It didn't matter. Ruby was one thing, but he wasn't going to befriend another child here. The only reason he befriended Ruby was because they were on the same wavelength.

If somebody like her existed back in Fuyuki-

"I see you two have not killed each other yet."

He's snapped out of his thoughts when Cursed Arm approaches, people giving his hooded form a wide berth. A number of people seemed to be panicking a little and approaching nearby teachers, but the teachers all just seem to shake their heads and utter a few words of assurances, calming them down a little.

"And I see you predictably cause a ruckus with that mask. Ever thought of giving it a paint job to make it look less creepy?" Angra Mainyu grins cheekily, prompting a huff from the Assassin.

"Desecrate my culture in such a way? I would sooner cut off a finger."

"I have absolutely no doubt you would do that." Shirou mutters, before glancing behind Cursed Arm. There was a girl with him, one that matched his description of the one that managed to get the drop on him, albeit briefly. Yellow eyes, black hair, and a bow on her head.

Blake Belladonna.

The girl seemed to be scanning the three of them, seemingly evaluating how much of a threat they were. "So these are your… friends?"

"More along the lines of associates." Cursed Arm nods. "Is your curiosity satisfied now, Belladonna?"

"I'm a bit more concerned now considering they look almost as suspicious as you do."

"What, suspicious, me? Now why would you think such a thing?" Angra Mainyu laughs, splaying his arms out. "I'm completely harmless!"

"Forgive me if I find doubt in hearing that from someone who associates with _him_." Blake huffs, jutting her head towards the Assassin, who simply lets out a deep chuckle. "I'm going to assume you both know who I am, and what he did."

Shirou nods at that, while the Avenger beside him simply widens his grin.

"And you aren't bothered by that?"

"We all have a checkered past. If we were bothered by what he did, we'd probably kill him ourselves." Shirou grunts, shaking his head.

"You could try." The Hashashin mutters not-too-quietly.

Blake stared at the three dark skinned teens in front of her, utterly puzzled.

"How on earth did people like you three end up here..?" She murmurs. She could tell from the looks in the other two teens' eyes that they were just like Hassan.

Murderers.

They'd killed before, and they wouldn't hesitate to do it again. She's seen that look in many White Fang soldiers' eyes.

In Adam's eyes. Before he put on that mask and made it his face.

"We were given a… deal from Ozpin. It's none of your business, but for him to keep up his end of it, we have to be _protectors of humanity._ " The yellow eyed teen with white hair sighed, before staring at her with jaded, and stern eyes. "You don't need to be concerned by our presence, you'll only distract yourself. Like it or not, we'll all be classmates for the next few years so might as well bury whatever misgivings you have and deal with it."

Blake narrowed her eyes, before giving the smallest of nods.

"There you three are." A strong, yet graceful male voice called out. Blake turned to find probably one of the prettiest looking men she's ever seen walking towards them, wearing a full set of dark purple armor. He briefly waved behind him at… the Schnee heiress, small world, before continuing to approach as the white haired girl watches him go with suspiciously red cheeks.

Of course the Schnee would go ga-ga for the knight type. Typical.

"Lancelot. Did you have any troubles on your walk?" Hassan greeted the purple haired teen with a small nod.

"No, it was quite pleasant actually. I made a new acquaintance in Weiss Schnee. She's rather pleasant." The now named Lancelot smiles a little tiredly, before turning towards Blake. She stiffened a little, her instincts telling her to be wary.

Not because he was dangerous, but because she's seen this kind of person time and time again.

His armor, his general facial structure, the fact that he seemed to hit it off with the Schnee so quickly, he had to be from Atlas. His entire demeanor screamed Atlesian.

"You must be the one who managed to catch my teammate here off guard a few nights ago. Lady Belladonna, was it?" Lancelot smiles at her, holding out an armored hand. The claws on his gauntlet looked horrifyingly sharp, sharp enough to tear the flesh off of bones with a single swipe. "My name is Lancelot du Loc. Despite your negative first impression with him, I do hope my team and I can let bygones be bygones and build a working relationship, perhaps even a friendship if possible."

Blake stares at his hand for a few moments before looking up at him. "Why?"

The purple haired teen blinks in confusion. "Why what?"

"You know what I am, don't you?"

"What you are?" Lancelot scrunches up his brow in confusion before realization dawns on his face. "Oh you mean a Faun-"

"Yes, that. You're from Atlas. Why aren't you…" She trails off, raising her hands a little. "…well… acting like one?"

"…you mean racist?"

"...yes, that."

"I am above such things, Lady Belladonna. Honestly, the racism you Faunus receive is completely ridiculous." He sighs, shaking his head before flashing another tired, yet charming smile. "You are all people just like humans are. There is no reason your people should suffer in such a way."

Blake stared at him for a few seconds, a little floored.

She was well aware that not 'all' of Atlas was racist. But…

…a very, _very_ large majority of the Kingdom was the source of most Faunus racism. She's heard the horror stories from various Faunus refugees who had to escape from Atlas simply because the discrimination from the populace was far too great for them to bear.

It was especially prevalent in the richer families, or the families that have a history with raising their members to join the Atlesian military or to become Huntsmen.

But Lancelot here seemed…

…decent. It was honestly something that gave her some hope for a better future.

"…how on earth are you friends with him?" She couldn't help but ask as she pointed to Hassan.

Lancelot let out a small chuckle, before shrugging his armored shoulders. "I ask myself that sometimes… but to be honest, I do not think I can picture myself fighting alongside any others at this point in my life. Despite their faults, I trust my team."

The other three members seemed pensive all of a sudden, with the tattooed one and the white haired one visibly blinking in surprise before looking a little guilty for some reason.

"…yeah, what he says." The heavily tattooed teen leaning against the wall says before grinning a little and striding up to Lancelot, looping an arm around his shoulders. "The three of you are assholes, but you're my assholes."

"And you just ruined it, excellent." Hassan grunts, shaking his head.

Blake stared at the quartet of… mismatched boys, with a now relaxed gait.

There was no threat here.

Not right now.

* * *

After a rather… somber speech from Ozpin, the students all began to settle down and pull out their sleeping bags and changed into their sleeping clothes. A large majority of the male student hopefuls all ended up bare chested, engaging in the ever traditional mating ritual of all male teenagers by flexing their muscles and winking at girls.

The amount of girls who actually reciprocated was rather staggering.

"You would think that being future warriors who will hunt Grimm, they would spend the night resting instead of engaging in this juvenile behavior." Hassan huffs as he leans up against a wall closer to a window, his cloak shrouding his entire body now like a blanket. He looked surprisingly comfy.

"I mean, yeah, but they're also teenagers so…" Angra Mainyu shrugs, grinning cheekily.

After Blake had left them halfway through Ozpin's speech, the four of them sequestered themselves over to an empty spot in the auditorium near one of the large windows.

They didn't _have_ to sleep here for the night, they had their own dorm room already after all. But they might as well if only to help scope out other students.

Lancelot was busying himself with finding a comfortable position to sit against the wall in as his armor shifts and scrapes against the surface, while Shirou simply sat down without a fuss.

The four of them looked like an odd quartet for sure.

"Hey there!" A bubbly voice exclaims, immediately catching Lancelot's attention as a familiar violet eyed blonde drags her little sister over. "Oh hey Lance, didn't expect to see you hanging with my lil' sister's boyfriend!"

"H-he's NOT my boyfriend Yang! W-wait, isn't that the guy who helped you in that barfight?" Ruby quickly cuts herself off from her embarrassed squeal as she changes the subject, staring at Lancelot. "Shirou, you know him?"

"We're all… acquaintances. I'm guessing this is your sister then." Shirou sighs as he looks up at Yang, who gives him a once-over before grinning.

"Mhm, that's me. Yang Xiao Long. And I gotta say... Not bad sis, I approve."

"Again Yang, he's just my friend!" Ruby grumbles, before she looks at the rest of Shirou's team. "So… erm, hi? I'm Ruby Rose… erm, nice to meet you all…?"

"A pleasure to meet you once more Miss Rose. I am Lancelot du Loc." The purple haired Berserker smiles and nods.

Angra Mainyu snorts, grinning toothily. "Chill, red, we're not gonna bite. Name's Angra Mainyu, call me the thorn in Emiya's side."

"An unfortunately accurate description." Shirou grumbles, while Yang walks a little closer and lets her eyes roam all over the Avenger's body.

"Damn dude… getting all those tats must NOT have been a comfy experience."

"Trust me, it wasn't." Angra Mainyu's grin turns just a little darker. Oh no it wasn't. Not even close.

"Still, they look dope. You're probably the scariest guy in the entire auditorium right now!" The blonde chuckles, before her grin falters just the tiniest bit as she glances at Hassan. "Second to skullface over there I guess… erm, just to be sure, you're not like, White Fang, are you?"

"I have the oddest feeling I will be repeating this many times throughout the year, but no. I am not a member of the White Fang. Nor am I even a Faunus. This mask is simply part of my culture." Hassan huffs, almost petulantly.

"Your culture?" Ruby chimes in, curious now as she steps a little closer to the slouched Assassin. "So.. you mean there's a lot more people who also wear masks like that?"

"There were. Not anymore."

The mood immediately dropped upon the uttering of that reply, causing Ruby to frown sadly, her eyes widening a little. "O-oh.. o-oh no, I'm so sorry-"

"It is of no consequence." The skull masked teen shakes his head, before turning to look right at Ruby, his mask tilted upward a little. "You have nothing to apologize for. It is simply the way things are. Which is why I am here, to not only become a Huntsman, but to revive my people and their culture one day."

"Pretty cool reason to join Beacon if you ask me. You look creepy as hell but you sound like a pretty alright guy." Yang chirps, grinning before glancing at Lancelot. "You've got some pretty interesting and weird friends here Lance."

"It certainly stops the days from becoming boring." The Berserker chuckles, shaking his head. "It sounds like the same could be said for you and your sister."

"Not a day goes by without her making it more exciting, one way or another, for better or worse." Yang winks, before receiving a light punch to her arm from Ruby.

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Nothing, just that every day is an adventure with you, my adorable and weird little sister!"

"I'm not adorable or weird! I'm fierce! And… and pretty average! With average and normal knees!"

"Seriously, what's up with the knees thing, you've been saying that all day-"

"Do you people mind!?" An irate Weiss Schnee suddenly marched over, growling, wearing a nightgown and a fierce scowl. "SOME of us are trying to slee-o-oh hello Lancelot, fancy meeting you here!"

A fierce scowl that completely evaporated as soon as she laid eyes on the resident Berserker.

"Ah, Lady Schnee, good evening." Lancelot smiles politely.

"Oh, friend of yours Lance?" Yang smoothly steps around her sister and towards Weiss, eyeing her a little while Weiss narrows her eyes at the familiar tone the blonde took with the knight.

There was a sudden tension in the air as the two girls seem to square up, sizing each other up as Lancelot suddenly turns a little pale, recognizing what was happening.

He turns his head to Shirou only to find the boy a good three or so feet further along the wall, in the middle of conversing with Ruby.

He then turns to his left to find Hassan to be nowhere in sight, and Angra Mainyu currently scooting away quietly with the cheekiest of grins.

Leaving him with a possible conflict on his hands.

Damn it, he didn't even have the Charisma skill, how was this happening!?

* * *

Meanwhile, in Patch.

* * *

Taiyang Xiao Long was having a good, if slightly stressful night.

His daughters, BOTH of them, had long since arrived at Beacon Academy, the very same place he and their mothers attended, to become Huntresses.

To say he was shocked when he found out that Ruby was given a chance to basically skip a grade or two and head straight for Beacon's entrance exam, all thanks to Ozpin noticing her skills when she interrupted a robbery led by Roman bloody Torchwick, would be an understatement. It made him wonder why Ozpin would do such a thing.

Maybe he saw something in Ruby that he thought would lead to great things for the future.

Maybe it was sentimentality, a spur of the moment action brought upon by his guilt for what happened to Summer. Because lord knows that out of everyone he knew, Ozpin was probably the third guiltiest feeling about the entire event. Second only to Qrow.

Maybe Ozpin was finally going senile. The man didn't look it, but he was old. Older than one would expect.

Hell, now that he thinks about it, Ozpin's actual age wasn't public knowledge. Huh.

Eitherway, by now, his two baby girls were sleeping at Beacon, just like he did, and were resting up for the entrance exam.

"I wonder what Ozpin's theme for the _relics_ in the Emerald Forest is this time..." Taiyang mumbles as he finishes washing the dishes. It was a solo dinner tonight, so he made himself a simple meal consisting of pizza delivery.

A knock on the door made his eyes narrow.

Who the hell would visit him at this time of night?

It wouldn't be Qrow. Asshole never even bothers knocking, he just lets himself in, either by unlocking a door with his spare key, or by turning into a bloody bird and swooping in through the chimney.

Nearly gave him a stroke the first time he did that.

Taiyang dries his hands off and squares his shoulders, putting on his calmest, friendliest smile as he walks towards his front door and opens it up. "Can I help you?"

"Ah, yes, you could. Do you happen to have a map?" An incredibly cultured voice replied.

Taiyang blinked as he took in the appearance of the person in front of him. It was a man, about his age perhaps, maybe a little younger. He was tall and thin, with slicked back hair that was such a dark shade of blue that it could have been black in the right light. A single strand of his hair hung down in front of his forehead. His face was narrow and his features all told him of perhaps Atlesian descent.

He wore neatly tailored white dress shirt and dark trousers under some sort of… brass corset? He couldn't tell properly because he wore those under a thick and rather frayed looking trench coat with shoulder capes of some sort. In fact, the coat seemed to split into different flaps at the bottom half, with each flap being connected by leather straps forming lattices between each flap. In his right hand, he held an expensive but elegant looking walking cane, which was most definitely a weapon as well, and in his left, a smoking pipe.

Taiyang was immediately suspicious at the man's appearance. He looked well dressed, WAY too well dressed.

His suspicions died when he noticed a small figure trying to hide behind the man's back.

It was a girl, a small one, probably in her early teens, possibly even younger.

She had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes that currently stared at him nervously. The girl was dressed in a deep purple, almost black puffy dress with long frilled sleeves that almost completely hid her hands from view. The dress almost made her look like a jellyfish with how puffy it was in the lower areas. Under that she seemed to be wearing puffy bloomers that looked a lot longer than usual ones since they reached her knees, and Mary Jane shoes on her feet.

She also had a little top hat on her head, and the parental side of Taiyang wanted to just coo at how dapper she looked _._

She was currently hiding behind the man's back, while hugging a battered looking orange teddy bear to her chest.

"Erm, sorry, did you say a map?" Taiyang blinks, looking back up at the man, who was eyeing him with a calm, but calculative eye.

"Yes, quite. I am afraid the two of us are rather lost and are lacking any form of communication devices, so I thought we'd ask for directions from a local. We have been wandering through the forest for quite a while." The gentlemanly looking stranger explains, moving to take a puff from his smoking pipe, only for nothing to come out, causing him to sigh a little.

It wasn't lit? Seems he must have ran out of tobacco.

"You two were wandering through the forest? Are you both alright?" Taiyang asked with concern lacing his voice. "You have a child with you too, wandering through that forest at this time of night is incredibly dangerous. You're lucky I live out here, there isn't another house for quite a while… did you get attacked by Grimm?"

"Grimm you say?" The man hums, his eyebrows raising. "Yes, quite. Those monsters were quite a nuisance but I managed to dispatch them quite easily."

"I… see… well, you both might as well come in. I'll show you a map, and you can rest here for the night." Taiyang decides, smiling warmly as he takes a step back and gestures to the inside of his house.

"Are you sure? We wouldn't want to impose."

"Nonsense, there's no way I'm letting you both have to trek all the way to town at this time of night." The blonde man chuckles, shaking his head.

The blue haired man hums, tilting his head a little as he scrutinizes Taiyang. It almost felt like the man was trying to unravel him just from a single glance.

After a moment, the man smiles a little and nods. "In that case, we will happily accept. Are you in favor of this decision, Miss Williams?"

The little girl hiding behind the man and her teddy bear stares at Taiyang for a few seconds.

Something felt off about her. There was an odd niggling in the back of Tai's skull. A strange pressure in his head. Something about the girl and her focused stare just… seemed…

 ** _Wrong._**

The moment passes as she nods nervously before hiding back behind her teddy, holding it up a little as she makes it nod as well.

Blinking in confusion for a moment, Taiyang grins and takes a step back. "Well, in that case, let me welcome you to Patch. My name's Taiyang Xiao Long."

The blue haired man slowly steps past Tai, entering his house with a dramatic flutter of his coat, before he suddenly pulls his outer coat off in one swift flourish and then hangs it from the nearby coat hanger in a smooth, fluid motion. He then lifts his cane up and hangs it on the coat hanger, before smiling confidently.

"And I…. am Sherlock Holmes."

…

Taiyang stares at the oddly dramatic introduction with a blank stare. "…um…"

"And this is Miss Abigail Williams. My protégé of sorts." Holmes pats the now named Abigail on the head, prompting her cheeks to redden just a little as she gives a tiny wave with her teddy bear's right limb.

"...h-hello..."

"I.. see. It's nice to meet you, Mister Holmes, and you too little Miss Williams." Tai smiled politely again, though he was honestly at a loss for words. Despite his seemingly calm looking appearance, this Holmes guy looked like he had a flair for the dramatic.

Or possibly a few screws loose.

It reminded him of Barty in a weird way.

With that though, Taiyang leads them to the living room so he can get them some refreshments. They were probably exhausted, and thirsty.

"So, Holmes, what do you do for a living?"

"Why, my dear Xiao Long, I am a Private Eye."

Somehow, Taiyang didn't doubt that for a minute.

* * *

 _Whew. Finally. There's your Ruler. Its the greatest detective. And bonus, Abby's with him! Yay!_

 _Bet you weren't expecting to see them so soon. Well, enjoy it, cuz you won't see them again._

 _For a long while._

 _I wasn't gonna include that last part but a part of my brain, which may have been the whispers of Yog Sothoth himself, kept going **"Dew it. Dew it now."**_

 _Hope this was worth the wait guys. I'm not gonna lie, writing this chapter was difficult. I just couldn't find the motivation or moxy for this chapter, but now that its done, hopefully the next one will flow smoother! Next chapter will involve the orientation!_

 _Now, to answer just a few questions that may have been asked._

 _How is it that Gudako summoned Ivan if she is still in Babylon?_

 _Simple, I answered this already. Loopholes. Fanfic loopholes. I rationalize that she summoned him the same way some people summon certain story locked Servants in FGO before even reaching the chapter they're in, because of events._

 _Think of it as Gudako managing to summon Ivan cuz of a Rate Up Gacha._

 _If you want a lore answer though, you'll have to wait until we get to dive into Ivan some more. Which won't be for a while._

 _Second, does the character progression seem a little shallow? Probably. But only cuz of my relative skill in writing. I'm not the best at being super complex about character development, but damn it, I'm doing my best so whoopee!_

 _Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I can say with complete certainty that while I'm sure some of you have made very good guesses to some of the other Servants despite being given no evidence or hints to them..._

 _None of you will be able to guess the Caster._

 _Absolutely none of you._

 _I guarantee it. If you do, then... I dunno, shoutout to you when Caster shows up I guess._

 _Not cuz the Caster is impossibly strong or anything, but because its the last Caster you'd expect. Muahahaha, got your attention now didn't I?_

 _Onto FGO news!_

 _So, the past few events in FGO have been... fruitful I guess. Kenshin Uesugi is a great unit, and she marks the second wellfare Servant I've managed to get to NP5!_

 _She's also bloody scary. Those facial expressions get downright Danganronpa worthy._

 _Couldn't get my hands on Avenger Nobunaga but I did get to NP5 Mori Nagayoshi. So that's awesome. He is the most literal embodiment of a glass cannon I've seen in FGO thus far._

 _The latest FGO Fes came and went, and I walked away from it with a bunch of wasted SQ I got from login bonuses that I tried to use a day or two ago to try and summon Hessian Lobo (I failed btw, that's like 120+SQ, poof gone, and no Lobo in sight), and I managed to get Kama from the Guaranteed SSR Servant gacha._

 _While I was hoping for a Berserker, preferably MHXA, I sure as hell ain't complaining about getting Kama. I've been needing an Alter Ego slayer. If I can slap her into a team with Sima Yi and make sure Sima Yi's NP is ready for use as soon as the battle begins..._

 _Boom, that's one dead ass Alter Ego. Watch out Ashiya Douman, your days are numbered when you finally become a boss fight!_

 _Not gonna use the new 'Special Ascension' feature on her yet though. Gonna wait until its close to the end of the time limit given to use the one-time option to instantly Max Ascend any Servant. If I don't have any new 5 Star units by then, I'll use it on Kama._

 _Kinda means I can't use her for a long while but eh... despite how 'okay' I am with summoning her, Assassins are the last Servants I'm in need of. I have a LOT of those._

 _Anyway, no promises on how soon the next chapter will be. Hopefully before Christmas? Maybe? Same goes for Misericordia._

 _Also, this story has a TVtropes page._

 _Forgot if I mentioned this before, but knowing that still makes me SO damn happy. I couldn't stop smiling when I found out this story had a page on TVtropes._

 _Whoever made it, from the bottom of my heart... thank you._

 _I'm really happy that there's people who enjoy this story that much._

 _Anyway, enough being sappy, see you all next time!_


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